Next week my wife will finally be able to visit us in Cambodia. Regrettably, she will not be able to spend much time here as she has an important job in the U.S. Government in Washington, D.C. Three years ago, when I was Ambassador in Brunei our family took a holiday to Cambodia. After visiting Phnom Penh and the majestic temple of Angkor Wat, the entire family thought the visit was much too short, because we didn’t get see enough of this beautiful country. My wife and I spoke many times about our desire to visit Cambodia again so that we could broaden our understanding of its history and experience more of its culture. Fortunately for us, when I became Ambassador to this great country we get to surpass our expectations and actually have the opportunity to live in Cambodia. We will now have more time to not only explore the beauty of this country and its culture, but are also able to get to know the people who live here. Our dream has become a reality.

One location we will visit while she is here is Phnom Bakheng temple, a heritage site being restored in partnership with the U.S. government. I find a personal source of pride in witnessing the collaboration between the Cambodian people and my government to restore this important Khmer heritage site.

One of the things my wife and I enjoy is finding places of cultural and social interest to a country that may not be on the normal tourist’s itinerary. I know from experience that there are many interesting and scenic places in Cambodia, but that there are probably many more that I still don’t know about. I was wondering if you would provide suggestions of where I should visit, perhaps one of the gem locations in Cambodia that tourists rarely hear about or know about. Also, as I mentioned in earlier blogs, sports have always been a big part of my life. What recommendations do you have for places I can go to watch Cambodian sporting events?