Publishing "90 Days in Cambodia" had a double purpose: providing information for people interested in Cambodia, and digesting my three months there. The second goal has certainly been achieved, as to the first I am still thankful for any comments. Thanks to all for taking your time to write.

Things have changed a lot since the summer of 1998: For practical travel information and some background (books) about Cambodia, click here.

UPDATE 2004: I am sorry that I can't include the comments I continue to receive. I just don't have the physical opportunity to update the webpage.

Don Rogers, United States of America
29/4/99

I just wanted to thank you for publishing your excellent website of Cambodia. I was there during January and fell in love with the place: I motorcycled, solo, to many of the places you reviewed.

I'm returning to Phnom Penh in less than two weeks, only this time, my trip is for personal business, as I'm researching Phnom Penh's potential for opening my own business there.

Again, thanks for publishing your website: It is good for the Khmers.

Rich Garella, United States of America
30/4/99

Nice work on the Cambodia journal. Sure, I have a few factual criticisms--not surprising considering how long your journal is--but I found the whole thing an enjoyable read, especially in that you included and described many different aspects of your experience in Cambodia, with sensitivity and respect. I would recommend this site to anyone who wants to get a feel for Cambodia.

Neal Kelley, United States of America
30/4/99

Excellent web site!  I spent 2 1/2 years in Cambodia (1994-1997) -- your site brought back a lot of memories. A first rate job!

Hector Rifa Burrull, Spain
30/4/99

Congratulations for your work: 90 days in Cambodia and for the feelings you could find there.

I am a psychologist, professor at the University of Oviedo, Spain. I am seriously interested in the ethnic minorities of Thailand, Lao, Vietnam and Cambodia. I just returned from Vietnam. I was walking around the central highlands of Vietnam from Danang to Kontun through the QL 14 by motobike. The most interesting place I found was the MonRay National Park and the bordering areas with Lao and Cambodia. I would like to cross to Cambodia from Vietnam through the jungle but you know that you do not have permission for do thatch. So after visit the Vietnamese side I would like to do the same from the Cambodian side in order to know more about the ethnic minorities living in the forested area. I visit also Phnom Penh looking for information to visit the Virochey National Park but it was not possible from there. In your article 90 days in Cambodia, you talk about the chunchiet, the Kreung and the Tumpuon. Could you tell me a little more of them? In the Vietnamese side are living the Brau (about 200 people) and the Ro Mam (about 230 people) but the government of Vietnam relocated all together in new villages so it is very difficult to understand the specific cultural behavior of this minorities. I though that may be in the Cambodian side it is possible to observe the same people in more naturalistic conditions. What do you see about?.

I replied to Hector personally. If anyone has more information about this subject, please send an Email to him here.

Markus Trinkner, Germany
30/4/99

Gratulation! Der Bericht hat mir sehr gut gefallen, insbesondere hat er mich an meinen Trip mit meiner Frau nach Kambodscha vor zwei Jahren erinnert.

Guy Nicholson, Canada
1/5/99

Your article on your experiences in Cambodia is very interesting. I only wish everyone who visits the place I called home for three years would take the time to get to know Cambodia so well, to contemplate their actions and to reflect on what they've seen and done. The sex tourists and Rambo types could learn a lesson from your courtesy.

I do, however, take issue with your erroneous assessment of the newspaper I managed during this time with a little more respect. Your reflection on the accuracy of Ms. Williams's work was fair, and she spent a very short time volunteering her time for us. The Cambodia Daily is not run under the auspices of a relief agency but is funded entirely from the personal pockets of its American publisher, who lives in Tokyo. And it is in fact the most neutral Cambodian newspaper, at least relative to the Phnom Penh Post, Cambodge Soir or any of the partisan Khmer-language publications. It contains no in-house editorials and has no editorial policy besides 'promoting a free press.' Can the NZZ claim that?

Simon J. Porter, Australia
2/5/99

I have just finished looking through your travels of SE Asia. It has taken me two days to do this believe it or not, maybe it was even three.... I went and read through your account of 90 days in Cambodia... its funny, but during all that time, there was so little going on out here in the outside word.. yet, I don't know, I'm lost for words.

I also found something that puzzles me, it is now several occasions I have had to test this theory.. but each time I look at a photograph of Angkor Wat it brings tears to my eyes, not from sadness or anything, but my eyes feel sore for some reason... I do not know why, but it is a most beautiful sight but it is painful to look at by photograph... I wonder will this happen when I see it from the ground it stands upon.

Anyway, I would just like to thank you for your website, your photographs are fantastic, and your writing superb...

George Moore, United States of America
3/5/99

In fact, my opinion is that you are just about the only guy to have gotten it right about Cambodia in the last year or two! You've got the hottest web site about Cambodia on the Internet at the moment!

Jan Egil, Norway
2/5/99

I just returned from Cambodia 3 weeks ago, after my second trip there (the first was in March, 1997). It's still a magical place, though a lot of things have changed. Angkor will always be magic, but there was something special about having THE WHOLE place to myself the first time. Seems like you got to see and experience a lot more of the country than almost anybody else who've been there.

Tony Chen, Malaysia
3/5/99

Your web site is very interesting personally to me as I was spending my time in Vietnam and other Indochina nations from 1989-1997.  I was the first Malaysian and foreigner to successfully apply a joint venture license with the National Oil Service Company of Vietnam to operate a travel agency business.

I had to spend more than three years 89-92 waiting for the approval while operating under the license and office of my Vietnam partner. It is like waiting coffee, if you like to drink Vietnam coffee, it is better than Cappuccino or Espresso only the waiting.

During the Hun Sen and Cambodia Prince war, many foreigners were stranded in PNH. My VN company together  with the VN army and using 5 coaches went to PNH by road to rescue a few hundred foreigners.

Wim van Tilborg, Holland
3/5/99

I was in 1993 for three months in Cambodia with six people from the Dutch army. Your letters are first I have could read after that and it was for me nice to read.

John O'Donnell, Cultural Bridge Productions
6/5/99

Keep adventuring!

Judith A. Love Eastham, United States of America
6/5/99

You've done a marvelous job.

Nicolas S. Hentoff, United States of America
7/5/99

EXCELLENT!  I've read a number of Cambodian travelogues and yours is by far the best.  You take the time to meet the truly interesting people that most tourists would avoid.  I especially enjoyed the Marksman's club. Victor has a truly bizarre web site that I had visited before visiting your website. Thanks for sharing your experiences.

Hongly G. Khuy, United States of America
7/5/99

Thanks for your beautiful and meaningful trip report. I was a refugee from Cambodia in the early 80s. Now settled in Hawaii, I wish some day I could take a wonderful trip like yours across Cambodia. Anyway, thanks for your nice piece of writing.  I learned a lot from your trip.

Sarath Peng
7/5/99

It's really take me back to Cambodia again, Thanks for all the story and info.

Lisa Huoy, United States of America
11/5/99

I just wanted to let you know that I enjoyed the read of your report very much. I've been in the US for 18 yrs. I don't have a lot of memories about Cambodia, after I read your report it's make me want to visit Cambodia even more.

Bill Herod, Cambodia
12/5/99

I thought your report was a very interesting, well-written and balanced presentation of a complex situation. The fact that there are people here who don't agree proves the point!

Alfonso O'Neill, Portugal
20/5/99

Congratulations for your site. It is one of the most original and interesting sites I am aware of.

Anonymous, France
2/6/99

I visited your site and was really stunned by the fact that you dare to talk about the Cambodian elections...  Your site is nice; keep on with your stories describing provinces, karaoke bars and restaurants but please, be realistic, you still don't know anything (not that your stay has taught you something) about Cambodian politics and writing that Hun Sen has won the elections in a democratic way is simply absurd.  You have seen the elections as an outsider, not as a Cambodian.

The International Community has reacted to all the Cambodian events since the 1993 elections just like Switzerland did during World War II :  "close your eyes when you don't want to see...".

You are simply not entitled to talk about Cambodian politics and democracy in Cambodia.

Solang Uk, Switzerland
22/11/99

I am somewhat late in discovering your article on "90 days in Cambodia". I very much appreciate your frank presentation of your experiences; you have done Cambodia and her people (not the politicians!) a great service. Excellent job! Like you and some of your readers, I am disgusted with sex tourism - the story of the little girl near Angkor Wat is nauseating. Please continue to help find all ways and means that could degrade and/or discourage the sex tourists (HIV will not deter them - condom comes to their aid!).

If the anonymous negative comments from France disturbs you, disregard them. It is not worth the bother; the author completely misses the point of your article. For some, democracy only means "if my party wins". I went into self-imposed exile since 1963 - long before the wretched Khmer Rouge event. However, I never have a taste for politics. I only yearn to see my native land develop economically and politically so that her people can live a decent life.

For your additional information: Conversational Cambodian does not have a word equivalent to 'foreigner' (or étranger, or Ausländer) to address a foreign person. People would say (when they know) Lòk (Mr.) Angklés (English), or Amric (American), or Swiss, or Russi, etc. The word Barang is likely originated (in the last century) from the corrupted pronunciation (à la cambodgienne) of France. Traditionally, Cambodians would assume any Westerner they first meet to be French! Sometimes the older generation may use the word Barangsès (Français).

Robert Starkweather, United States of America
14/12/99

That whole goddamn election was a joke, and the "observers"  flown in with little to no knowledge of the country participated in the mockery.

"If there was intimidation"? are you blind. People were scared for their lives during that time. Did you try talking to any of them?

The whole exercise just proves than strongman Hun Sen is powerful enough to bully even the UN.

Remember: it's not who votes, it's who counts.

Peter Leth, United States of America
7/12/99

Your travelogue is excellent. It's nice to know that there are travelers out there who visit Cambodia for the sake of befriending the people and learning about their past, present and future on an intimate level. Thanks for a great read.

Sovy Medved, United States of America
9/1/00

Saw your beautiful articles about Cambodia, my homeland. Thank you for your time and effort. I only wish you the best. I left Cambodia in 1974. I do not plan to return at all. The USA is my Haven. I live in San Jose, California. By the way, Long Beach (southern California) is the city where the majority of Cambodians live; and San Jose is the city that has the most Vietnamese.

Sokhom Srey, Canada
15/1/00

I don't know what to say. But what I want to let you know is that I am very happy to see your web. That helps a lot of people who did not have any idea or knowledge about Cambodia. I am Cambodian, but I am ignorant when it comes to the history of Cambodia. I realize that a lot needs to be done to improve lives in Cambodia, but who cares?! Right? It seems that people are only interested in their own welfare. 

I was in Cambodia for a few times and every time I was there I did not want to leave the country. There are lots of things I want to do to help the people of Cambodia, but have no idea where to begin or start. Just like I mentioned earlier, people are only interested in their own welfare and hungry for power. Anyway, you do a very excellent job on your web; I enjoy reading it very much.

Vannera Ouy
17/1/00

I am Cambodian an I never went there before. I really want to go though I love the pictures that you took of it i think it is really nice. It looks very beautiful my mother was right it is nice there I shall go do you think so...  I really want to know more cause I really don't know much about my own country. I don't live at home no more.

And I have a child and I want to tell her everything that I know about Cambodia you know keep my culture alive - do you know what I mean?

Matt Scott
23/1/00

I really enjoyed your Cambodian journey.

Keo, Cambodia
2/2/00

I really like your article about your traveling in Cambodia. You tell me a lot about Cambodia people, government, politics, geography of the country. Very good writer and interesting to read.

Seth Chum, United States of America
9/2/00

Your article about Kratie, Ratanakiri & Mondulkiri touched me profoundly. I've spent 3 years of my teenage years in Kratie. I've seen the beautiful Cambodia as you described (the jungles of Kratie & Stung Treng, especially the Mekong River), although I wish I had seen the dolphins in Kratie. I shared the elephant experience with you when I was stricken with malaria and had to be brought to a srok hospital -- I thought I would die 2 or 3 times on the back of the elephant on a 6-hour journey. I now see elephant in a much different way than most tourists do.

Terry Johnson, United States of America
9/2/00

You have captured the country quite well. I was there last November ('99) and am planning on returning this year. I went with a group of dentists to work in the outlying villages around Phnom Penh. Simply a beautiful country with a beautiful people that everyone should visit once in their life.

Mark Davis, United States of America
11/2/00

I just wanted you to know how much I enjoyed your website regarding Cambodia.

John Rigg, United Arab Emirates
14/2/00

Thank you, Marcel, for your interesting article on Cambodia. I visited the country on a photographic tour four years ago, met Prince Ranarridh (a pleasant man, but ineffective leader), stayed in Phom Penh and ate with the monks, visited Tuol Sleng (S21) and Choeng Ek (Killing Fields), stayed with a wonderful family in a small Khmer guesthouse in Siem Reap, visited Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom and left hoping to return and spend more time with the people and experience their wonderfully rich culture.

Janni U, United States of America
18/2/00

I was born in Cambodia but left 1979 after the Vietnamese invaded. I went back to visit in 97 and I wasn't brave enough to travel like you. Please continue you explore so other can learn about Cambodia and the Khmer people.

Fengshi Wu, United States of America
19/2/00

You did a good job. The book list is very helpful to me, as a beginners of the studies of Cambodia like me.

Emily Underhill, United Kingdom
25/2/00

My boyfriend and I traveled to Cambodia in November 1999, and I found your site excellent. I wish that I had read it before I went, as your information was great as well as the photographs. I loved Cambodia and think that it does not deserve the bad press that it gets regarding safety there.

Jane Upham
5/3/00

I am doing a project on Cambodia and your site was very helpful. I now know that Cambodia is a beautiful country. But it is tore apart by war. There are still many peaceful people there, like monks, etc.

Rin Bo, United States of America
9/3/00

I really enjoyed reading your story. I am Cambodian, but was born in Thailand.  I got a chance to visit my home in April last year. It was the best experience in my life. I have been dreaming about it. I have studied Cambodian history, life style, and politics, for a while. I visited my relatives in Siem Reap, what a beautiful place. Angkor wat, Angkor Thom, Bayon and many other temples were amazing! I lost my words when I saw it. I was into tears when I have to leave Siem Reap. I travelled many places in Cambodia, but not that much as you.

I'm proud to say that I'm Cambodian.  Some people here in the U.S. are ashamed to admit who they really are, especially Cambodian people.  I don't understand why, probably because they don't know the history of Cambodia.

Melanie Som, United States of America
14/3/00

I am an American woman married to a Cambodian. My husband and has been here since 1979. Your story was wonderful and very informative. We hope to travel to Cambodia ourselves when our children are older. We want them to see their heritage. Thank you for showing the pictures so we can show them proudly where their father and family comes from.

Kim De Simone, Canada
18/3/00

I just wanted you to know that you are providing a wonderful service on the net and that it is appreciated by many.

Vibol Hou, United States of America
14/4/00

I find your accounts of your stay in Cambodia extraordinarily stunning. You offer a wonderfully complete (more so than any other text I've read online) and unbiased view of Cambodia with all the good and bad things that happen there.  Being a Cambodian myself, I feel that your article has a lot of the material content the media has been lacking in (they always seem to pass on news about the negative things that go on, as you suggest in your travelogue).

You capture the realism of Cambodia as I've never read before, and since I have not ever set foot in Cambodia, you gave me a glimpse of how life in my homeland is like (minus the politics).

Sok Mey, Malaysia
17/4/00

I feel that you know a lot about Cambodia and I hope that you can put more information on your website. I am Cambodian staying oversees so I want to know all about my country.

Apsara, United States of America
3/5/00

Thank you so much for sharing the wonderful and meaningful trip report of Cambodia. It really takes me back to Cambodia which I left six years ago. I was a girl in small village far from the city. I made my way from there to America by scholarship from one of the Universities in California.

Dave Jackson, United States of America
30/5/00

Marcel, yours is a tremendous Web site. Great writing, with vivid images; not only of what you saw but also how it affected you and affects any traveler to the country. I just returned from 16 days in Asia, spending only four days in Cambodia. I concentrated on Siem Reap and Angkor, and both places left indelible impressions on me. The monuments are a sight to behold, and Siem Reap is a village caught on the cusp of what will be a booming tourism business. The roads are barely passable, bicycles outnumber cars 50-to-1, yet five-star hotels are being built to compete with the Grand Hotel. The people are the most hospitable I've met anywhere, but the intimacy and charm of the town is being stripped away a little each day. It's that dichotomy that held me in its spell all four days I was there. I could sum up my trip by saying that I want to return to Thailand, I need to return to Cambodia.

Dave Poley, United States of America
30/5/00

Thanks for your very interesting travel log on Cambodia. I'm currently researching what I want to do and where I want to go while in Thailand and Cambodia in the Fall, and your travel log really helps. Most interesting for me was the "matter of factness" in which you did everything - You made your travels seem so simple and easy.

Going alone on my first trip overseas will be a little less scary now that I have read about how such a trip can be courageously and honorably done!

Pen Vindara, Austria
14/6/00

I'm a Cambodian student in Austria until November, 2000. I've just read your text on 90 Days in Cambodia. It moved me to tears. I love my homeland very much.You are great man. Thank you for loving poor Cambodia. I would like to use your web site to appeal to all Khmer people insode Cambodia or abroad to build up our country together. My contact address is vindara@hotmail.com.

Christian Beitgoff, Singapore
19/6/00

Erstmal ein super-grosses Lob für deine Website. Wirklich gelungen! Dein Reisebericht ist phantastisch! Auch wenn ich so einige Bedenken habe, nach Cambodia rüber zu fahren, denke ich, ich werds versuchen.Landminen, Raubüberfaelle und Malaria hin oder her.

Pen Vindara, Austria
29/6/00

I'm a Cambodian student in Austria until November,2000. I've just read your text on your 90 Days in Cambodia. It moved me to tears. I love my homeland very much. You are great man. Thank you for loving poor Cambodia and thank god for having you. You are welcomed to my house when you come to my country. I would like to use your web site to appeal to all Khmer people in country or abroad to build up our country together.

Florian Leimgruber, Italy
10/7/00

Ich bin Historiker und Kunsthistoriker und recherchiere z.Zt. für eine Arbeit über "Pillage and Looting of Artifacts in Cambodia", also über organisierten bzw. individuellen Tempelraub in Kambodscha. Sollten Sie hierüber nähere Informationen haben oder aber wissen wo/wie ich an solche herankommen kann, würde ich Sie freundlicherweise um eine Info ersuchen; ich bin für jeden Tipp/Wink dankbar, um für die Untersuchung möglichst viel Material zusammenzubringen.

If anyone can help Dr. Leimgruber with his research about pillage and looting of artifacts in Cambodia, please click here to email him.

Somavatey Lay, Canada
14/7/00

Thank you Marcel, for sharing your romantic and adventurous experience in Cambodia with us. It is good to know that there are people out there who care about others. It is good to know that there are people like yourself who are up to the risk and challenge in search of a deeper understanding of a culture that is not your own.

My mother went back to Cambodian 8 years ago. She said it was not the same as it used to be. I hope one day I get to see it the way she once saw it before the destruction of Cambodia. I see that it has lots of potentials. One day I'd like to go back, open a business and improve the conditions in Cambodia.

Thong Ly, Canada
21/7/00

Thank you for the report "90 Days in Cambodia", Marcel. Your writing and pictures are so wonderful that I enjoyed reading it. Through the description of the places you visited, what you saw, the people you met and even the conversations you had, the present posture of the Cambodian society is completely revealed.  For those who have a great mind to know (or to visit) Cambodia, this is the perfect information than what I can imagine no other report more detailed.

I was born and brought up in Kratie, "a wonderful clean town on the Mekong" (like you said in the report) and a place that nourished my dreams and bitter stories. The dolphin in the picture reminded me of my childhood. Yes, I did see dolphins jumping out of the water when I was playing around the river.  The scenes of my wonderful childhood along the Mekong were still engraved on my memory. However, those carefree and happier days departed completely in the midst of the Khmer Rough revolution. Between 1976 and 1979, I was imprisoned with the age of 16. What were the reasons?  How many innocent people were framed and killed before they could find the answers? There were no answers. The prison was secretly built by the prisoners themselves in the deep forest of Kratie. (not many people knew there was a horrific thing like that existing in the forest). My youth, which supposed to be charmed with beautiful ideal, had been entirely trampled during the gloomy regime. What you saw at the "S21" in Phnom Penh was not exaggerated, and it was downright well to describe the suffering I had encountered. How did I struggle in such a hopeless and cruel situation for survival? How did I make the hair's breadth escape? Could it be "something magic"? It was a very, very long and terrified story.

I came to Canada in 1989. Having a resettlement in this country was a major milestone in my life. To adapt myself to the new environment was quite a work of challenge. By and large I have been living well in one of the most peaceful countries in the world, what more do I want? Sometimes there was something unsettling the bottom of my mind, and it was so vague that I couldn't realize what it was. Gradually I knew that I was missing something. It was Cambodia! The country that made me stay away as far as I could when I considered the painful experiences. At the same time, I missed all the beautiful things, the Mekong, Angkor Wat, my good friends, and so on... with mixed feelings, I came back to Cambodia in 1995 and spent quite a few weeks there. I visited many different places from cities to countryside. There were countless new things (and even much more in your report) which I had never seen and heard in the '70s and '80s. People have been trying to improve their living conditions, but I was somewhat bewildered by some of those remarkable changes.

I wish the Khmer people will have the concept of what (and how) they are going to cope with in the future, seeing that the past has already given them lots of important lessons.

Socheth Sowath, Switzerland
21/7/00

Vielen Dank, dass Sie über Kambodscha berichten! Ich bin selber ein Kambodschaner, der schon seit 20 jahren in der Schweiz lebt. Jedesmal, wenn ich Bilder von Kambodscha sehe, freue ich mich immer wieder wahnsinnig. Kambodschsa ist ein armes Land, wir brauchen viel mehr Tourismus!

SC, anonymous
02/11/00

I left since I was 12 years old. My family has been through a lot. I suvived the war in 1975-1979. I have had more than half of my family die during that war including my father. I miss my country so much but afraid to go back home. I am from Pailin. But looking at the photos makes me so very sad. My country is a beautiful. Thank you.

TPK, anonymous
22/11/00

Freya Williams, Great Britain
29/11/00

How interesting to find my name in your piece.

I found your webpage as I was remembering my own trip to Cambodia last year. I backpacked and I observed many things about Cambodians. This place is magical and you had certainly described the place well. I hope peace would prevail and Cambodians would be able to at least enjoy the very basics of life. Luckily for Cambodia, it has Angkor - May its former Khmer glory glow......for the good of all mankind !

Sophear, Cambodia
29/12/00

My family came to the US after the KR was defeated by Vietnamese armies, I'm have a degree in Electrical Engineer and now I'm an Engineer at Hewlett Packard company in US. I have red your stories and want to thank you for your wonderful work you have done and you have taken initiative and interested in Cambodia.

Katherine Nupier
03/01/01

I'm constantly on the web searching for sites on Cambodia, since my visit in 1999, I can not forget the magic of the place. My partner took me on a trip there after his first visit in 1998 just after Pol Pot died. I didn't know much about Cambodia before my trip, but I do now and want to know more about the future than the past.  As do the Khmers.
Not at one stage of my trip was I anxious, scared or threatened I have never felt so much at home in any country.  The Khmer themselves are the most fantastic people so curious and interesting.

Anyhow, I just wanted to let you know that the word MAGIC is exactly what that place is all about.... I'm intrigued and returning to Cambodia in November for the water festival, I only want to see positive things about that country...

Charles Tsai, Canada
19/01/01

Just wanted to say thanks for your great website on Cambodia. I'm going there next month for 5 weeks, so I wanted to read other people's accounts. I read Off the Rails by Amit Gilboa, which I thought was awful but there aren't that many travelogues on modern Phnom Penh in book form. I hope someone comes out with a better book soon.

Anyway, at the end of your Cambodian section, you talked about how each trip had a song. It's funny you mentioned Kenny Rogers' Gambler for Africa because one of my most distinct memories growing up in Malawi is listening to Kenny Rogers on our 10 hour drive from Lilongwe to Nyika.

Shawn Phelps, Canada
09/02/01

I was deeply moved by your thoughts and insights both on Cambodia and on your website in general.

Banchop Kangdouangnhot, United States of America
15/02/01

Thank you for the beautiful photographs and for taking us, the readers, along with your journey. I came to America at the age of two and remember absolutely nothing about my native land. I was born during the time of the terrible holocaust that took so many innocent lives of women, men and children. Reading your journeys made me feel as if I was on the same boat and elephant ride with you.

Anonymous
23/02/01

I believe sharing personal stories such as yours will bring a better understanding for the country's past, present and future. 

Mik Kaing, Thailand
23/02/01

I really enjoyed your story. I am Cambodian, but born in Thailand. I went to visit Cambodia once, visiting relatives. I miss them so much, but I can't really tell them, because I am not fluent in Khmer. I just understand them. Reading "90 Days" makes me sad, but it is also motivates me to do better in college, so I can help support them when I finally get a chance to. When you look at the poverty like Cambodia's, doesn't it make you think about what really matters in life. 

Tranthithu Huong, Vietnam
20/03/01

I am not a Khmer. I am not a Cambodian. I have never lived in or visited this wonderful land though it is just right in our next door. I am from a country that you may not have such a good impression. But like you, I love Khmer culture, I love Cambodia and its people very much. You may disbelieve it, but it’s true. The reason is very simple. I have some friends, who are Khmers, who I love very much, and they are now living in Phnom Penh.

Yes, dear Mr. Stoessel, I love my Cambodian friends very much. That’s why I love the land where they were born and grew up. That’s why I love the people and culture that they belong to. And that it’s why I follow the news about Cambodia almost everyday via any means I ever have. The good news about it make me happy and the sad news make me cry.

I felt so moved when I read about your feelings towards the poor people you saw in Cambodia. I have also read about it in the magazine Time published in August 2000, so I understand your feelings are really truly and you wrote "90 days in Cambodia" from the bottom of your heart.

I don’t know why I have managed to be brave enough to write this message to you. I just feel that you love Khmer and poor people very much. Khmer people are always gentle and have Buddha in their heart like you.

I have been in Singapore and I wish one day my beloved Cambodia will be as prosperous as Singapore where people from Chinese, Indian and Malay origins all live happily in harmony.

If the King Edward VIII loved his American woman more than England, so I love Cambodian land as much as mine. Because there, in Cambodia, live some of my beloved Khmer people. May the God keep Cambodia in peace, in prosperity and never let its people suffer.

Your travel story has been near me all the time, even when I go to bed. I printed all the pages of the story out and read it again and again. How crazy I am. I sometimes feel that I also wander along Phnom Penh's streets by nights, ride the elephant in Cambodian jungles, and sleep some hours in misty Angkor Wat, listening to the sound of tropical rains like you.

Gerald Lee, United States of America
23/03/01

I just got back from 6 days in Cambodia. I read a bit of your site before going, and reading more again after I'm back, I realize that i only scratched the surface. Even so, the feeling of magic feels quite true. I came back from Cambodia feeling that i had met some of the most wonderful people I have ever known. It seems that so much war and hatred in the recent past has given way to a yearning for peace and goodwill. What struck me is that the people I met seemed to really want to talk. They had been through so much, and yet they remained curious and open. I hope that I can be this way in my own life, too.

Julia Miller, United States of America
20/03/01

I've just returned from SE Asia, spent a way too brief time in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, but your fantastic article has brought back the feeling I had of longing to stay and discover the real Cambodia of today, having learned so much of the ancient history as detailed on the exquisite murals of Bayonand Ankgor Wat.  Your words have filled the void for me, for now.

Marten Dalhed, Sweden
08/05/01

What you write about the Thai word "faràng" being derogatory isn't true. The notion that farang is a derogatory word comes from the fact that westerners who don't understand Thai believe they're being constantly talked about in a derogatory fashion, which is not (always) the case. I use the word farang myself when referring to myself and my fellow Westerners in a Thai context, as do my Thai friends.

The word (as is probably also the case with 'barang') comes from a shortened version of 'Francais'. Of course, speaking in generalizing terms about westerners in itself might be considered prejudiced, but the word carries no such connotations for the general Thai speaker, however baffled he may be at the Occidentals' behaviour in certain situations. You may choose to discard me as a besserwisser, or change the text, however you see fit. I AM a besserwisser. It just hurts me to see the already confused and sometimes sceptical attitudes between Thai and Farang be reinforced.

Stefano Ferrarini, Italy
12/05/01/01/01

Unfortunately, so far i've not found any recent news and photos about small Cambodian aboriginal groups located in remote mountainous areas. Particularly i refer to "Kuy" and "Samrè" on Dangrek chain, "Pearr" or "Porr" on Cardamom chain, and "Saoch" on Elephant chain. Do you have any recent photos about them, as well as any recent news about their lifestyle and integration with Khmer society? The only document I've found, is a very old photo (1923) portraying three "Pearr" men.

Stefano, unfortunately I can't help you. If anyone can, please Email Stefano. Thanks.

Mélanie Lallier, France
26/06/01

J'ai visité ton site et je trouvé ça intéressant d'avoir tant détaillé ton expérience. 

Joseph Michael Henry, United States of America
01/07/01

I just finished reading your story about your journey to Cambodia. It was fascinating; a very good read. My compliments. My heart goes out to the Cambodian people for the suffering that they have endured and I hope they find a brighter future.

Daniel Beer, Australia
17/07/01

Firstly, a sincere thank you for your account of your time in Cambodia. I have just finished reading it, and have yet to read of your other travels, but look forward to doing so shortly. It is so refreshing to hear the accounts of someone so obviously open to experiencing a country for its true self, and not just the distorted reality that one finds on the well worn tourist trail! It is a common criticism of tourists that they don't venture off the beaten track, and so often gain little or no experience of their host country, other than a perpetuation of their own comfort sphere, and I concur completely with your efforts to avoid this phenomenon.