“There was once a judge in Pisa with more brains than muscle called Messer Riccardo da Chinzica, who may have thought that what worked well with his studies would satisfy a wife too. Being very rich, he was able to devote considerable time and effort to searching for a good-looking young lady to marry, whereas if he had been able to give himself the sort of professional counselling he gave others, good looks and youth were just what he should have run away from.”
19October 2025: Of Rabies and the Ozempic Cast from Viking Cruise Lines
Descending into Siem Reap airport I was taken by the sparseness of vegetation and the flat topography. I was thinking Cambodia…jungle. On the bus to the hotel one can see what is referred to a mountain in the far distance. Flat fields with scrawny cattle grazing. The sparse traffic encountered are motorcycles. A few villages stamped with poverty, children in bare feet and feral dogs. What did my travel physician say about Cambodia…stay away from dogs and with some 200,000 dog bites a year sounds like a plan.
An embarrassing “gringo moment” upon arrival to Sofitel Angkor Phokeetrhra Hotel and Golf Resort being greeted by a traditional dance troupe…a show for the gringos!
Right to the dining room for lunch. The furnishings, service and menu indicate a true luxury hotel in a sea of archaeological heaven and poverty. Golf anyone? Perhaps a glass of champagne at the champagne bar?
An excellent lunch of sea bass in Putanesca sauce cooked to perfection with tossed greens and tomato salad for the brave (or the foolish). Chocolate tart with vanilla ice cream for dessert. ABC International, our tour company, says beer is VERBOTEN unless you pay $5USD. Obnoxious and parsimonious considering the large amount of USD paid for this trip! Excellent Angkor Wat lager!
Sofitel Angkor Phokeetrhra Hotel and Golf Resort is colonial in style with a plenitude of gleaming polished wood throughout. Our room 139 comfortable but a more colonial style than Singapore Shangri-la and Peninsula Bangkok. The bathroom is somewhat outdated and not what one might expect from a Sofitel.
Wanting to explore just a tad and get the legs moving I went with a couple of birds from ABC International to a pharmacy across the road from the hotel. A very busy street with waves of motorcycles and tuk tuk drivers gently inveigling you for their services. There are no pedestrian cross walks near the hotel and the traffic lights are rarely obeyed so crossing the street is a bit of a challenge. There are a few tourist centric businesses about including large souvenir and carpet shops and restaurants. There is a huge ramshackle buffet restaurant for locals intriguing to look at and with a buffet supper for $4USD sign me up! Not really as food safety Cambodia ranks behind Singapore and Thailand. There is clean adventuresome eating and there is unclean exotic! As my travel physician stated exercise extreme care in eating in Cambodia and be most careful hiking off the beaten path….landmines.
Oh back to the pharmacy which is a true pharmacy dispensing medications only unlike a U.S. or Canadian pharmacy which have morphed into mini supermarkets in the last couple of decades. There is a huge poster advertising rabies vaccine with a salivating German Sheppard. Perhaps a good business in a country with over 200,000 dog bites a year. Most medications at pharmacies do not require a prescription although I have heard many of the prescriptive medications may be counterfeit.
Back in the hotel lobby a bizarre sight of about 40 obese Americans with fanny packs heading out (in very loud voices) to some excursion. Could this be a cast from an Ozempic television advertisement? I see on a hotel poster board activities for Viking Cruise Lines. Are these the sophisticated passengers I see depicted in Viking Cruise line commercials. Worthy of a frog shirt scandal at the pool!
America is the 10th most obese country in the world and Canada 50th so pardon me staring at our supersize friends to the south. Quite a touristic site and what a goldmine for American pharmaceutical companies!
19October2025: Siem Reap, Cambodia: Treated Like a Criminal
Siem Reap here we come! My main reason for travelling with ABC International was to discover the ancient civilization of Angkor Wat.
Brutal timing awaits as up at 05:45 to finish off packing and leave bags outside room at 06:45 before heading down to breakfast. Not having much of an appetite for breakfast at this ungodly hour which is almost a crime because it is excellent although what breakfast could compare to that served at the Shangri-La Singapore! A slice of mango and papaya, croissant with scrambled eggs and a cup of jasmine tea.
On the bus at 07:45 to the secondary Bangkok airport much quieter than the main airport. ABC International, with a “fine eye for details” booked our flights failing to have seats assigned to match our preferences. Luckily managed to snag an aisle seat. At 6’3 don’t cram me into a window or aisle seat please.
A quick 45-minute flight. Facial recognition, thumb prints and electronic passport scan makes one feel like an inmate as opposed to a tourist. Our profiles must be now accessible throughout the globe. Privacy?
My plane food was forgotten (would not have eaten it anyways) but all the tour group forfeited their chow which was given to our tour director who dropped it off at a children’s hospital en route to our hotel.
Siem Reap has a newly constructed airport. It is so new you can smell its newness. Our flight was the only game in town so the airport was deserted.
Off we head in this poverty-stricken country to Sofitel Angkor Phokeetra Golf Resort and Spa. A bit incongruous with poverty is a lush beautifully maintained golf course. A beacon of luxury in a sea of poverty. The awkwardness continued with the Ozempic Crowd from Kansas.
….they should become so after being examined by discretion, tested by fortune and certified not simply by your will but your understanding. Although the most important thing in life, it’s usually the one over which least care is taken: some are forced upon us, most are the result of pure chance. A person is defined by the friends they have, and the wise never make friends with fools.
Last night in Bangkok prior to flying off to Cambodia. We were to meet three other couples for a shuttle across the river to eat at a Thai-Italian fusion restaurant called Mazzaro. D and his wife arrived at our meeting point at the Peninsula Bangkok pier all flustered and out of breath having gone shopping and badly stuck in Bangkok traffic as bad as Bangkok traffic is as a matter of regularity. They bowed out so wishing us happy eating. A five-minute ride on the shuttle and a five- minute walk to the restaurant. So many tailors, massage parlors and a cannabis lounge.
I saw little evidence of any Italian influence as the menu was Thai more than anything else. I had a simple non risky meal of spring rolls, grilled pork chops and rice with two draft beers. Spouse had a shrimp dish which was mediocre. My pork chops were excellent and three of them! A large bottle of San Pellegrino all coming to $80CDN with service and tax.
I looked with alarm at what K had ordered. A gigantic lettuce and tomato-based salad. Was she on a suicide mission? We had seen a travel physician before we departed on the tour for advice and jabs. If you can’t peel it or it hasn’t been boiled you are asking for trouble in Thailand. K paid a severe price overnight, on the flight to Cambodia and the first day in Cambodia. Liquified innards!
I once had Montezumas in Mexico laying me flat for 48 hours and queasy for two more days…bloody jungle tomatoes thinking that was my 4th trip to Mexico and I was invincible!
Having a shield against ill will is a great trick of rulers. To have someone else who can be criticized for mistakes and chastised by gossipmongers is a sign of superior skill, not lack of competence as malice thinks. Have a fall guy, therefore, someone who, at the expense of their own ambition, can be a target for your misfortunes.
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