Spending my time at Phnom Penh’s riverside, I met a Frenchman who had just come back from Siem Reap, the town where the iconic Angkor Wat is. He told me the place is a “Disneyland for tourists.”

After visiting it myself, I think he was pretty much right. Nonetheless, I enjoyed it. It is still possible to find space – physical and mental – for yourself in this mega-popular destination.

Among the tons of moments I select some of the most meaningful (for me) for this post.

No advertisement, but here I did feel great. On a side note, there’s no place like home :).

“Brevity is the sister of talent.” (c) Anton Chekhov.

The Green Home is an ecology friendly sustainable place with its own water supply, recycling system, and home-grown food. That bungalow brought me nice conversations with the person who engineered all this. And the owner was smart to tap into post-materialist values of tourists.

A great spot to lie and contemplate about the unbearable lightness of being.

… Or stroll and do the same.

An early bird catches the worm. Exploring temples is best in the first morning hours.

Hidden in the trees.

Twins.

All alone stood it and the moss hung down from the branches,

Without any companion it stood there uttering joyous leaves of dark green,

And its look, rude, unbending, lusty, made me think of myself. (c) Walt Whitman

Anaconda turned into a tree root. 

The Guardian is watching you from the depth of Time.

Goodbye, the year of the Rooster!

Good morning, the day of the Butterfly.

I would remove the garbage bin as the last sign of the “modern man.”

“The shadow of your smile … when all are gone.” (c) Adapted from Frank Sinatra.

Transformation.

After climbing uphill for half an hour in melting heat nothing tastes better that a natural fresh Jacuzzi.

Man, why you’re looking at me?

Better watch this.

Life isn’t that bad after all.