Last year we spent 3 nights in Bangkok and decided it's worth another visit, this time we spend 5 nights in total in the vibrant city. Bangkok is life, day and night, we love it! Some places are crowded with tourists but you can avoid that. Around the Royal Palace and Wat Pho it's always busy, walking through the area, street vendors constantly call out "Long pants" to us. After a while we realize I'm wearing shorts and you are obligated to wear long trousers in the temples. Last year we visited Wat Pho, very over crowded to see 1 big golden boedha. This temple is so overrated in our opinion and you have to queu to get in, unbelievable. This time we just want to get lost in Bangkok and follow our instincts. We walk a lot. Just enjoying and discovering the most beautiful neighborhoods and deserted temples. We lose ourselves in the organized chaos of Bangkok.
After 4 days Bangkok we take a flight to Cambodias capital, Phnom Penh. This place feels completely different. Where the welcome in Thailand is very hearty it's a rather cold welcome in Cambodia. The paperwork takes some time, even though we received visas before travel. Phnom Penh is chaotic and misses a soul. Bangkok is also chaotic but there is a kind of logic in the chaos there. Walking through Phnom Penh you immediately feels the French influence. All restaurant menu's have typical French dishes and they look and feel like an old fashioned French brasserie. You see one bakery next to another that sells baguettes and croissants. The only reason for us to go to Phnom Penh is to visit the killing fields and S21 (both led by Khmer Rouge). It leaves us speechless. That this has happened in recent history is mind blowing even worse is that the European Union kept on supporting Pol's Pot party until the late nineties. There is a lot written about the mass genocide in Cambodia so not going to do that here. After the heavy visit we need some distraction. We end up in Sora, a sky bar in the fancy and iconic Vattanac Capital Tower. Spectacular view over the city, spectacular wines and cocktails, spectacular food but mostly a spectacular bill and a slight headache the next morning.
By road transfer we drive to Koh Andet. Our driver has all the corona symptoms, continuously sniffing, sweating and coughing, but we're convinced he can't have it as Cambodia only has one case. He drops us off under a bridge over the Tati river where we are collected by boat. We stay in a floating lodge. Nice 
from far but far from nice. Not what we expected nor in line with the price but we immediately decide to make the most of it. The rooms are floating on the river, the views are great. There is a old German manager, he took over to fix the ongoing issues without a lot of success. He tells us many stories but above all he is full of crap. The staff does not speak any English but we help ourselves. From the long wine list they had 4 wines and after we left there was no wine left. We swim and kayak a lot and enjoy the sun, rest and just being.
For us every holiday must have beach time. After our floating lodge we take a road transfer to Kep, a small city in the south east of Cambodia. We stay in the most perfect beach resort, stunning and built and ran to our preferences. 
5 nights are not enough. Kep is the place to eat Kampot Crab (crab with a pepper sauce). Not really our taste. We stick to all available LokLak and Amok dishes. Every bottle Presesco served by tour waiter is tasteful, he can just not pronounce Prosecco. While we are at the beach the president of Cambodia allows a corona suspected cruise ship to dock close to where we stay. For us the sign or better the last push to buy face masks. Widely available in Cambodia.
You can't visit Cambodia without seeing the temples of Angkor close to Siem Reap. To get there we need to overwin our newly developed road fear a last time. The traffic in Cambodia is hectic. We have driven 
ourselves through Cairo and I thought it could not get worse but it can. We see many accidents and close our eyes many times. In Siem Reap we see René and Marije (friends from Maun), they are on a 2 months trip through Asia. The reunion is warm. We visit the ancient city of Angkor together, they on there locally bought motorbike and we on a rented motorized bike. The temples are breathtaking. Corona is in full force in China so there are hardly tourists. China is by far the major tourist market for Cambodia. We have the temples to ourselves, magical.
In Siem Reap you have a hotelschool where you can go for lunch and by doing so you support the school. 
Seeing I also did hotelschool I really wanted to see that place. Sala Bai is fighting poverty and human traffic through a social and professional hotel and restaurant training of young underprivileged Cambodians. Very touched by this. The food was stunning, service a bit clumsy but that's part of the experience and training. What really stands out is the poor level of English (this goes for the whole of Cambodia). We ask ourselves "How is this possible?". While talking to the teacher English we get the answer as we don't understand a word of what she says. I give them some tips to improve and I was very touched to see afterwards on social media they implemented some of these. The last evening in Cambodia we have dinner with René and Marije, nice as always!
On our return we spend another 3 days in Bangkok, the city that never bores you. The last evening we go to a lady boy show. We are seated on the first row but we move after 10 minutes of show as I fear I will end on the podium. The show is really bad. On our return by boat to the hotel we see an unforgettable fireworks show. The last day we spend on the Chatuchak weekend market. The market is endlessly big, you can literally buy everything here you can imagine.
In the middle of the night we board direction Addis Abeba with face mask on and then on to Windhoek. On arrival we experience that the corona madness has arrived in Africa. 2,5 weeks after our return we close all our lodges and go into a proper lockdown. We never thought of this while enjoying our trip through Asia. We realize how lucky we have been to travel without problems. Asia, we will be back!!
