You Are Here... in SE Asia (Marc Dyer and Karen Cooper, travels in Dec. 2000

It's

Wherever you are . . .

u s a       Great Britain
GERMANY    australia
JAPAN
   scandanavia


Wherever you have been . . .

n o w
in Southeast Asia

to what is essentially a series of webpages about our recent travels in Southeast Asia�namely, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. Although this site has mainly been created for friends and family to view, we also hope that others might stumble upon it, and get some information and/or inspiration to make such a trip to the region themselves.

We've decided to do away with thumbnails this time around�some of you may remember we used them in our Southern Africa pages�and simply limit the number of photos per page to about a dozen, at least for most pages. We've also compressed the images somewhat, so although clarity may not be perfect, the downloading time should be faster than if the shots were not compressed.

As you'll see below, some pages are thematic (e.g., "People and Faces" and "Wat's This?") while others merely geographical.

We hope you enjoy whatever you may have time for here. And please let us know what you think of any part of the site, by emailing us and/or signing the guest register at the bottom of this page. Thanks!

� Marc Dyer and Karen Cooper    [ February 2001 ]

What would you like to see, or where would you like to go?
Click on any of the thematic links, immediately below, or any one of the geographical ones a bit further down...

A sticker urging people to visit Laos... although you only ever saw them once you were already there! :-)

Birds
A list of the fine-feathered friends spotted by Karen.

EMAILS -- a few sent by Karen from Laos to her family (CLICK HERE TO GO TO THAT PAGE)

Emails
A few sent by Karen while we were in Laos.

For Sale... things to buy, and their costs (CLICK HERE TO GO TO THAT PAGE)

For Sale
Things to buy, and some typical costs.

People and Faces
Some of the very friendly people we encountered, among the many interesting faces (both animate and inanimate!) we saw or met along the way.

Restaurant Menu
Yes, that's all this is: not even a web page, just a large photo (945 x 600 pixels, but compressed for quicker downloading) of a menu, from Phonekeo restaurant in Phonsavan, Laos. So, are you hungy for some tripe? Or perhaps tripe salad? Maybe you'd like something more, um, normal? (If that's the case, we wouldn't recommend item #21.)

WAT'S THIS? It's a beautiful WAT (temple), of course -- Wat Mai Suwannaphumaham (at Luang Prabang, Laos) to be exact.

CLICK HERE TO GO TO THAT PAGE

Signs of the Times
Political signs (socialist-revolutionary ones in Laos, democratic-campaign ones in Thailand), anti-drug signs, signs of welcome and warning�you name it.

Transportation
Trains, planes, rikshaws, bicycles, tuk-tuks...

Wat's This?
What's a wat? Click here to find out, and see for yourself.

We've made only a few pages here, as many other photos from Thailand actually have made their way onto some of the thematic pages (e.g., Signs of Life), above.

Wat Ratchburana (from a busy city street, Ayuthaya) CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE AYUTHAYA PAGE

Ayuthaya
The former capital of Siam, Ayuthaya is chock-full of wonderful old wats.

Chiang Mai
Interesting and friendly people (and great architecture) from up north.

L A O S

Since we spent the bulk of our time in Laos, it's not surprising we came up with all these web pages...

A monk walking down main road in Luang Prabang, with an old, peeling revolutionary sign in the background--and (newer) bank and email signs in the foreground

A monk walking down main road in Luang Prabang, with an old, peeling revolutionary sign in the background--and (newer) bank and email signs in the foreground

Luang Prabang
Although crowded with tourists and travelers these days, Luang Prabang still has quite a lot to offer, including some very nice wats (more wats?!), a nearby weaving village, and monks galore, to name just a few.

Mekong River
A number of photos while on our two-day journey up the Mekong, from Luang Prabang to the northern Thai border at Chiang Kong.

Phonsavan and the Plain of Jars
Mysterious large stone "jars," strewn all over the countryside near this northern Lao outpost. A few nice people pictures here, too. Map of Laos

Southern Laos
Including Pakse and the semi-famous Wat Phu.

Vientiane
The capital of Laos has a lot to offer visually, as can be readily seen at this page.

C A M B O D I A

"Go to Angkor, my friend, to its ruins and to its dreams."

� P Jennerat de Beerski (1924). Angkor, Ruins in Cambodia. Boston & New York: Houghton Mifflin, p.20

Angkor Thom: Smiling faces all around! (CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE Angkor Thom PAGE)

Step back in time, by taking a little virtual tour of what's left of the ancient Khmer civilization at Angkor...

Look Back In Angkor
Ok, forget the silly pun here; there's nothing to get angry about at Angkor, after all! But hopefully this webpage will give you an overview of what's available to see at the various, lesser-known sites of this great civilization, including the ruins at Baphuon, Mebon, Preah Khan and the Roluous Group, among others.

Angkor Thom
Smiling faces all around! Angkor Thom is definitely a crowd pleaser...

Angkor Wat is probably the most famous thing about Cambodia, synonymous with the country, and for good reason.

Banteay Srei
A small site in more ways than one, Bantey Srei is at the top of many people's lists once they've been to see this little jewel. Come see why...

l i n k s
to related ~ nice ~ interesting ~ and useful
sites on the web...

Travel and other interesting information, especially for those interested in planning a trip to Cambodia, Laos and/or Thailand sometime:

c a m b o d i a

Angkor.Com: Tons of information on Angkor, including maps, recent news, historical background, even a virtual tour of the magnificent ruins of Ta Phrom.
The Cambodia News Net: Good source for news about Cambodia--lots of links to newspapers, magazines, radio and TV.
Cambodia Post: daily newspaper with, of course, a focus on Camodia and SE Asia; also includes a number of good links for travelers.
Internet Travel Guide: Angkor Wat. Some good, basic info on the ruins and the nearby town of Siem Reap (hotels, restaurants); also a number of links, a map, practicalities and advice on seeing the ancient structures.
Lonely Planet - Cambodia: Good travel info (and sometimes recent updates) on Cambodia.
Prime Minister's Office: Obviously, official information here about Cambodia and its government.
The Royal Cambodian Embassy (Washington DC): As you'd expect, info on consular services, government, tourism, press reports, and links to other relevant sites. Nicely done.
The Voice of Cambodia: News about Cambodia; also good for its links to the national archives, political information (such as the Funcinpec, Sam Rainsy, and Cambodian People's parties) and travel-related sites.

l a o s

Embassy of the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Washington DC): Of course, mostly government-related info, but also links to sites about Lao weather, tourism, news (Vientiane Times) and others of interest.
Laos Infosite: Courtesy of UC Berkeley, this site has links to recent news items, and is also especially useful for its rundown on Lao history and snippets of downloadable (using RealPlayer) traditional Lao music.
Laos News.net: Current Lao news, of course, but also useful links about travel, weather, maps, and an events calendar.
Laos - The Divine Kingdom: Lao history, people, religion, wildlife, etc.
Laos WWW Virtual Library: Links to various sites on Lao arts and culture, tourism, government, human rights�the list goes on and on.
Lonely Planet - Laos: General information on Laos; also includes recent travel warnings.

t h a i l a n d

Bangkok Post: Filled with news and information resources concerning Bangkok and the Thailand area. Includes subscription details plus useful Web links.
Chiang Mai News.Com "...your one stop source of news and information on Chiang Mai as well as the rest of Thailand and neighbouring countries."
Chieng Fa: Online magazine with lots of travel/tourist info on Thailand, as well as recipes and book reviews.
Lonely Planet - Thailand: More useful info on travelling in the Kingdom of Thailand.
The Nation: Bills itself as "Thailand's Independent Online News and Information Service," and seems to do a pretty good job of it.
Thailand News Web Directory: Links to newspapers and magazines throughout Thailand, as well as to TV, radio and Thai government reports.
Thailand - The Big Picture: Links galore, including travel and tourism, news, government, weather, and so on.

m i s c e l l a n e o u s

Malaria: Information on how you can help Cambodians fight malaria, sponsored by The Cambodia Daily.
UC Irvine: Southeast Asian Archive: Includes links to sites about Cambodian, Lao, Hmong and Vietnamese peoples.

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