As Jeff and I sat down for one of our first meals in Siem Reap, I asked him (probably prematurely) what would be his lasting impressions of the trip. His response was simply “the little things”. I figure to a large extent, mine will be the same. I kept a log of daily events in my notebook so that I could remember as much as possible but my friend Gerald very wisely commented, “The best memories are the ones you don’t have to write down.”

While memories of this trip may fade, my primary takeaway from this trip has little to do with Thailand, Laos or Cambodia. It’s a realization of how much I love to travel. Seems silly to say but I enjoyed every part of the experience. Why am I so surprised? Well, before taking this trip, I worried about just about everything when it came to international travel. I figured it would be hard to communicate, hard to get around and hard to find things to do without tagging along on some watered-down tourist tour.

I’m well aware Jeff and I took probably one of the more touristy routes through that part of the world. The spots we visited are heavily dependent upon tourist dollars and have no choice but to be as accommodating as possible. Jeff also took care of the majority of the travel arrangements. All of these things helped make my first real international travel experience in over 10 years quite comfortable.

Given this newfound love of travel, Jeff and I have starting planning another trip for later this year or early next. It’s looking like Europe in the Fall or South America in the Winter for another New Year’s adventure.

Can’t wait.