Back From Cambodia!

I've finally returned from my trip to Cambodia last night, and first I must apologize for the dearth of posts this past week. Apparently I live in the Stone Age and still don't own a laptop, so updating my blog was pretty much out of the question. I do have an iPhone, but navigating the Blogger site on a 3.5-inch touchscreen is an absolute nightmare. Ultimately, I gave up and decided to just leave things be until I got back to the States.

Needless to say, there have been a ton of amazing, curious, and even terrifying things I've wanted to post about while traveling. I will save all the gory details for the full trip report (which I hope to get started on this weekend), but I wanted to cover a few of the highlights (and lowlights) of the past week:

• The most terrifying hotel incident I've ever experienced happened at the Le Meridien Angkor. I don't want to spoil all the details here, but let's just say it involved me, completely naked and hysterical, and a hotel employee who refused to leave my room. This is an incident that the general manager of the hotel said he's never even heard of in his 22 years in the industry.

• Complete and utter disappointment with the Thai Airways Royal First Class Lounge at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport. Want a private room? Sorry, they're all taken. Want a full-body massage? Sorry we're all booked. I've never felt so let down by expectations... especially since I planned a rather roundabout itinerary just so I could experience the lounge. 

• Jaw-dropping amazement with Asiana Airlines First Class service from Seoul to Los Angeles. I've never in my life received such spectacular service - on any airline, anywhere. And there are no superlatives fitting for the eight-course dinner that was presented, except to say that it rivals any Michelin star restaurant I've ever visited at the very least. This experience literally put Cathay Pacific's First Class service to shame, and I can say that Asiana is truly in a class of its own.

• Cambodia was simply beautiful. Angkor Wat was every bit as stunning as everyone has made it out to be. Just be ready for the crowds. I tried to go to the temples as early as possible to avoid the hoards of people. Also, the ruins of Beng Mealea about an hour and a half outside of Siem Reap is an absolute must. This is the only place where you can still literally climb through a completely unrestored temple. The place was just surreal.

I will try to get started as soon as possible with the full trip report, but of course, I'm already back at my day job and have a backlog of work piled up. A vacation from my vacation would be nice right about now! I'll leave you with a picture I took of Angkor Wat at sunrise on my last day there... one of the most beautiful sights I've ever seen.