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A room at S-21 where prisoners were systematically tortured for weeks on end by Khmer Rouge soldiers in order to ferret out false confessions that the victims had committed acts of treason against Pol Pot and the regime. When I look at these images I really do find myself at a loss for words--this is one of those pictures that really do convey more emotions that spoken vocabulary ever could. It reminds of the video game Silent Hill, except it’s real--the evils of man are deeper than the pits of his imagination.

Slip up the steep wooden stairs beside French expat favorite Laundry Bar and you’ll find a big, high-ceilinged, light-filled space that is home to Christine’s. A handful of airy rooms are home to racks of quirky clothes and tables and shelves displaying original bags, accessories, jewelry, and knick knacks that stylish Christine has sourced from accessories and clothing Christine has sourced from Cambodia, Southeast Asia and abroad. I’m a big fan of Waterlily, a fun range of jewelry by another Phnom Penh-based expat made from recycled buttons, cables and other bibs and bobs. I also like Mitsou’s line of striking French-designed Cambodian-made fashion.

I hadn’t been awake for longer than a minute. I peeled back the tarp door to my room, walked out onto my deck, and leapt. It was an abrupt but purifying way to start the day. The cool, brackish water instantly defogged my mind, and my eyes opened to see the surrounding Tatai River and dense Cambodian rain forest. A lone sampan, anchored along an islet, was the only man-made object to interrupt the natural scenery. My chic bungalow lightly swayed on the calm water behind me, an incongruous encampment against the wild jungle backdrop.

Located on the southern tip of the Cardamom Mountains, near the Gulf of Thailand, the 4 Rivers Floating Lodge lives up to its name. The retreat’s 12 landless suites all float on their own buoyant platforms, moored to the riverbank. Outfitted with a ceiling fan, armoire, and wood-paneled shower, each of the towering, safari-style tented rooms also provides a nearly 360-degree view of the tropical landscape. A boardwalk connects the rooms to a central lounge and dining area decorated in a muted variety of Miami Beach sleek.

At first blush, getting to this secluded outpost might seem daunting. Guests can arrive by boat, drive, come by cab or take a bus from Phnom Penh: I took a five-hour bus trip from Phnom Penh, followed by a half-hour longboat ride from the village of Tatai. But the journey is well worth the peaceful reward. The Cardamom Mountains contain the largest and most intact evergreen rain forest in mainland Southeast Asia. For decades, the region was largely off-limits to developers because of land mines and fighting between government forces and the Khmer Rouge militia. This very isolation protected the area’s natural habitat, which is now home to scores of endangered species, including Asian elephants, hairy-nosed otters, and Siamese crocodiles.

Mine-clearance efforts and the end of hostilities have made travel here safe for more than 10 years, but it remains a sparsely populated frontier. The area’s remoteness is remarkable in and of itself. In the afternoon, I took a boat ride to the Tatai waterfall with several other guests. Even our skipper, a young Cambodian man who leads visitors on these trips every day, was still in awe of the lush surroundings. “So quiet and beautiful,” he said, looking at the palm trees along the river’s edge. After we arrived at our destination, I spent the rest of the day sitting beneath the waterfall’s forceful but soothing cascades, letting nature’s masseuse relax my muscles.

I returned to the lodge for dinner beneath an orange and purple sunset. On the restaurant’s uncovered patio, the only sound accompanying the clang of my utensils was the soft splash of kingfishers swooping to pluck fish from the river. I was less delicate, digging into skewers of mozzarella, watermelon, and fresh shrimp and a plate of steamed river fish topped with a basil cream sauce. In the lingering twilight, I sipped a gin and tonic on my private terrace before easing under my bedsheets. As the gently undulating waters rocked me to sleep, any illusions I had about roughing it in the wilderness drifted away. —Brendan Brady

Although the temples at Angkor Archaeological Park are a potent symbol of Cambodian pride, no one site around Siem Reap is more important to the country than Tonle Sap. As one of the world’s most varied and productive ecosystems, the lake is of vital importance for the provision of food in the country. Indeed, its presence helped maintain Angkorian civilization for centuries. Today, the lake is a popular destination for visitors. However, boat-ride hawkers at the main staging posts of Chong Kneas and Kompong Phluk have made organizing an excursion a somewhat fraught experience. If you aren’t willing to run the touristic gauntlet and haggle hard, the best way to experience the lake is arguably to see it on ferries between Siem Reap and Phnom Penh or Battambang.

The racks at Jasmine Boutique hang with gorgeous handwoven Cambodian silk garments, including exquisitely tailored blouses and trousers, elegant cocktail dresses and gowns, and classic shirts and skirts that can be teamed with anything from crisp cottons for a smart-casual look to sequined tops for a glam night out. The boutique was started in 2001 by Australian Cassandra McMillan and New Zealander Kellianne Karatau, who are passionate about handwoven Cambodian silk, evident in the quality of the beautiful clothes and accessories, such as silk scarves and clutch-purses. They also support other local designers and you’ll find pretty handmade jewelry like the pieces above to team with their clothes. They also have boutiques in Phnom Penh. Jasmine is located in the stylish shopping arcade at the riverside Foreign Correspondents Club or FCC Angkor. Home to Wa Gallery, a branch of Eric Raisina, and the John McDermott photography gallery, it’s easy to spend a couple of hours here browsing these chic boutiques in between drinks and dinner.

If you’re looking for an off-the-grid, ethical experience with elephants in Southeast Asia, look no farther than the Mondulkiri Project. This authentic NGO, founded by Mr. and Mrs. Tree just over two years ago, aims to protect forests from legal and illegal logging, while also providing a natural environment for elephants to live free from unethical tourism and working. As they experience greater success, they hope to implement an elephant breeding program. Through educating and employing over 200 Bunong people—the local, indigenous community that lives in this forest—and cultivating the surrounding forest, they are leading the charge for change, but they need help spreading the word and raising awareness. They are based in Senmonorom, Cambodia—just a five-hour bus ride from Phnom Penh or a 12-hour bus ride from Siem Reap. It’s $70/person for a two-day experience, which includes bathing and trekking with elephants, hiking through the forest, swimming under waterfalls, camping, and hanging out and eating with local Bunong people.

Most travelers to Siem Reap are here to see the magnificent remnants of the Khmer Empire and don’t have Cambodia’s gruesome genocidal history high on their to-do lists. Those sorts of sites – the Killing Fields at Choeung Ek, where hundreds of thousands of Cambodians were buried in mass graves, and Tuol Sleng prison, where some 17,000 were tortured and executed – are reserved for the capital, Phnom Penh. However, for the curious, the completists, and those interested in Cambodia’s modern history, there are a couple of sights at Anlong Veng, not far from the Thai border. Anlong Veng was the last stronghold of the ruthless Khmer Rouge, which ruled the country brutally from 1975-79. The communist regime was responsible for the deaths of millions of Cambodians by execution, torture, hard labor, malnutrition, and disease. The cremation site of former Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot has been given the attention it deserves. None. After Pol Pot died while on the run, presumably of a heart attack, his body was hastily burned beneath a pile of rubbish. The site is covered by a rusty corrugated iron roof in a littered gully behind some decrepit buildings on the edge of Anlong Veng. On the main road a small hand-painted sign points in the direction of a gravelly track leading down to the site. Blink and you’d miss it. The site takes all of a few minutes to visit and is not worth a second longer. It can be combined with a stop at Ta Mok’s House if you’re heading to/from Preah Vihear.

If you’ve come to Siem Reap, you’ve already got architectural wonders on the mind. And though you’ll spend your days learning about a 1,000-year-old civilization, a stay at Viroth’s Villa allows a more recent era of Khmer creativity to be contemplated: the 1960s. The decade saw the arts flourish in newly independent Cambodia, most notably in the modernist New Khmer Architecture style.

Viroth’s Villa’s boxy, petite, two-story building is one of the Le Corbusier–inspired genre’s few remaining examples (there are others in Phnom Penh and Kep, on the coast), and its owners, Fabien Martial and Viroth Kol, went to great pains to honor its clean lines and honest aesthetic when renovating the dilapidated building in 2007. Rooms use local materials to modern effect, with dark gray tiled floors and polished terrazzo baths, woven water hyacinth mats, and teak doors. Decor is kept to a minimum—a single standing Buddha, a giant frond from an Elephant Ear palm in a vase—but expertly curated and placed, lending the property the feel of a Southeast Asian art gallery. The intimate, seductive style can also be found in the couple’s second, larger property, Viroth’s Hotel, a newly constructed 1950s-inspired space that opened in January 2015.

At the top of the mountain (around 600 meters high), which can be reached by car, cable car, bus, bike or why not walking; you will find the Shrine of Our Lady of Penha which was inaugurated in 1947. What is also to be appreciated here is the view; down there you can see Guimarães with the castle and Paço dos Duques standing out. In the surrounding areas, there are paths that take you through the middle of the big rocks. Venture out in the search for caves. Besides the Shrine, there is a mini-golf course, a campsite and other infrastructures. There is also a picnic area, a great choice for warm days in the Summer.

Having built the Savoy Theatre, English agent Richard D’Oyly Carte opened a nearby hotel in 1889 to accommodate the wealthy American patrons who came to see the celebrated Gilbert & Sullivan operas. In the years following, the hotel welcomed such regulars as Winston Churchill, Coco Chanel, Frank Sinatra, Charlie Chaplin, Mel Brooks, and Katherine Hepburn; some of these famous former guests are now celebrated in the menu of theatrical Character Cocktails served at the hotel’s decadent Beaufort Bar, while others have inspired the nine elegant Personality Suites. Anecdotes abound at The Savoy, including the time Marilyn Monroe stopped by for a press conference in 1956 to promote The Prince and the Showgirl with costar Laurence Olivier and caused a media frenzy when she appeared in a black dress that, tantalizingly, revealed her midriff.

But The Savoy, now managed by Fairmont, is not one to languish in the past. The hotel completed an ambitious $350 million renovation in 2010—in time to celebrate its 125-year anniversary—and now features timeless spaces with every modern convenience. The 267 rooms and suites include Art Deco or Edwardian décor, custom-made furnishings, bespoke rainfall showerheads, and Penhaligon’s amenities; many of the higher category options look out over the Thames or city landmarks, and have extras like claw-foot tubs or, in Deluxe Junior Partial Riverview Suites and above, the legendary Savoy Butler service. Rotating programming—from arts and culture events to a writer-in-residence series and expert-led masterclasses—keep guests engaged, while the six dining and drinking outlets include Simpson’s In the Strand (beloved for its Sunday roast), Gordon Ramsay’s Savoy Grill, and the Thames Foyer for the iconic Afternoon Tea.

The area of Manteigas, located in the Serra da Estrela mountain range, is well known for the wool factory thanks to the high concentration of sheep. The current location of the Burel factory used to be the old Império Wool Factory few years back and in 2010 was bought by its current owners. The main goal was to work with Burel, the most traditional fabric of the local wool industry and also work and support young artists and wool designers. Moreover, the factory enabled to reinvent the value of the region’s natural resources, combining the art and know-how of the village weavers with modern design, creating original works with a contemporary trait. These products such as coats, scarves, suits, carpets, pillows, bed spreads, bags and even wall decorations are already in use of hotels (such as Casa das Penhas Douradas), Offices ( such as Microsoft headquarters in Lisbon) and homes. It is great to see a way of preserving the past and the Natural resources into the present.

Driving along the countryside in northern Portugal near Oporto I saw the spectacular hillside vines of the famous Douro Valley spread out in front of me for miles. The sight was breathtaking. I saw the steep hillsides with the vines on the terraces. The vines were loaded with grapes that in a couple of weeks would be ready for harvest. The vineyards were first established in the 12th century by Cistercian monks. There are numerous Cistercian monasteries in the area. UNESCO declared the Douro Valley a World Heritage Site in 2001. The Douro Valley produces the grapes for port, red, and white wines. Douro tours are available and run from a few hours to a few days. The cruises run from April to October. If you want to see the harvest picking of the grapes plan your tour for September. A drive through the Douro Valley or a cruise down the Douro River is an experience to savor. If you get to northern Portugal, look into a side trip to the Douro. You won’t be disappointed.

Porto is one of the most beautiful cities I’ve had the pleasure to visit. The city is packed with cultural attractions—many of them listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The port wine cellars, Oporto Cathedral, Clérigos Church Tower, and Liberdade Square are all worth exploring, yet a stroll along the Douro and dinner in a riverside cafe are singularly remarkable experiences. The river glows under the city lights at dusk.

Watthan Artisans offers a feel-good shopping experience. They employ Cambodian workers living with disabilities and train them in a number of skills, especially technical woodworking. This independent cooperative is a wonderful place to visit and to pick up something to take back home as a reminder of your travels, from colorful scarves and textiles to bags to beautiful wooden figurines.

Crowds may swarm upon it daily from sunrise onwards, but exposure hasn’t dulled the impact of the largest religious monument in the world. Commissioned by King Suryavarman II in the 12th century as the centerpiece of the mighty Khmer empire, the structure is inspired by Hindu sacred design and is estimated to have taken around 30 years to build. The biggest surprise upon visiting might be learning that the vast complex of spires, moats, frescoes, cloisters, and balustrades was constructed in such speedy fashion. You won’t be alone while witnessing it, but sunrise over the iconic temple remains one of the essential experiences in Southeast Asia. A return in the afternoon when the camera-toting hordes have dispersed is also advisable.