Cambodia

Everyone comes to Cambodia for Angkor, and they should. Walking into Angkor Wat at sunrise, then losing yourself in the faces of the Bayon and the tree roots crushing Ta Prohm, is one of those days you remember in full. Siem Reap makes it easy, with cheap tuk-tuks and cheaper drinks on Pub Street after a long day of temples. But Phnom Penh is where the history lands. The Killing Fields and Tuol Sleng are hard to walk through, and they should be.

Then I went south to the coast, which was a completely different trip. Longtail boats in orange and blue, turquoise water, a can of Angkor beer on a wooden pier and an island beach with nobody on it. I rode crowded buses with my eyes wide open, ate grilled fish with fried rice and a baked potato for some reason, and found a laundry shop with a name I won't repeat here. Cambodia carries a lot, and still knows how to have a good time.