A local girl I met the previous evening on the city’s party street — where she struck up a conversation with me outside the door of a bar — invites me to go to the lake with her and her friend. I agree, and she picks me up from my accommodation on her scooter. Her name is Sopõõn. She is an English teacher and has also lived in Europe for some time. She is very cheerful, energetic, and well-educated, and unlike most locals, she speaks excellent English. Her friend doesn’t spea

On the third day, I head to Angkor again by bicycle, but this time together with Luis from Chile, whom I met at the hostel. He has been traveling around the world for a longer period and is planning to make a brief stop in Estonia in about six months. In the evening, I spend time on the local party street, where, thanks to the warm weather, people also gather outside between the bars and nightclubs. The music on the street is loud enough to create a lively atmosphere, yet sti

On my second day in Siem Reap, I returned to Angkor — this time by tuk-tuk and with a group from the hostel: Felix from Germany, Celeste from the Netherlands, and Sebastien from France. Traveling together immediately gave the day a different energy. We set off early to reach Angkor Wat for sunrise. Watching the sun slowly rise behind the temple was a magnificent sight. As the sky shifted through shades of orange and pink, the silhouette of Angkor Wat gradually emerged — a tru

I rent a bicycle and spend my first day exploring the vast temple complex of Angkor, a UNESCO World Heritage site that once served as a sacred center of the Khmer Empire. The scale of the place is difficult to grasp — it is not just a single temple, but an entire city of temples, spread across a massive area. My first morning view of Angkor Wat, the most famous of all the temples, is unforgettable. Rising majestically above the surrounding landscape, it reflects both architec

What sincerity! What dedication! What musical talent!

In the morning, I successfully catch my bus from a station on the other side of Bangkok. The bus takes me directly to my destination — Siem Reap, the gateway to Cambodia’s greatest attraction: the ancient Angkor temple complex of the Khmer Empire. Interestingly, the name Siem Reap means “Siam Defeated” in Khmer, with Siam referring to the old Thai kingdom — a small but telling reminder of the region’s long and complex history. The journey takes the entire day, including the