Justin-Klein.com – Life of a Traveling Programmer

Photo of the Day: One Annoyed Ape

Justin — Sun, 13 Jul 2014 21:53:04 +0000

There's no question that this Barbary Ape was tired of being fed peanuts.

Taken just outside of Azrou, Morocco.

Photo of the Day: Lost In Thought

Justin — Sun, 03 Nov 2013 16:41:15 +0000

A young woman relaxes after helping her mother round up their sheep just outside the village of Balat, Western Turkey.

Photo of the Day: Summer In Perast

Justin — Wed, 18 Sep 2013 05:47:35 +0000

A lone fisherman on Ostrvo Sveti Đorđe, a small island off the coast of Perast, Montenegro.

Tropical Paradise

Justin — Wed, 15 May 2013 16:22:48 +0000

Now that I’d experienced Cambodia’s cities and jungles, with just a few days until Songkran – my deadline for getting back to Bangkok – all that was missing was a tropical, white-sanded beach.

Last stop: Sihanoukville.
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The Old Lakeside

Justin — Mon, 13 May 2013 23:00:01 +0000

For as unique and interesting as Cambodia is – if you want to see it, you’d better go soon. Because the country’s cash-hungry elite, along with its “for-sale” government, seems to have an insatiable appetite for profit. From what I can tell, Cambodia’s new rich is working day and night to gobble up the old – slowly but surely converting the country’s most iconic attractions into big, corporate-backed business.

The mysterious Bokor Hill Station, for instance – once a fascinating off-the-beaten-path destination – is already well on its way to being turned into a five-star casino. Sihanoukville’s pristine beaches are slowly but surely transforming into the kinds of resorts that have already consumed Thailand’s once paradise-like islands. Battambang’s bamboo railway is slated to be shut down any day, and even Angkor Wat itself has been sold to a Vietnamese corporation (which is the reason for its hefty ticket price). It’s therefore little surprise that Phnom Penh’s iconic backpacker haven is already a thing of the past…
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The Killing Fields & Phnom Penh

Justin — Sun, 12 May 2013 06:16:36 +0000

Rather than attempting a full day-by-day itinerary, in this post I’ll give a quick one-off look at the week I spent in Phnom Penh.

By arranging to rent a bike for the duration of my stay, I left myself the convenient leeway to pop down the block for a quick bite, or stray as far out of the city as I liked. And while I could’ve easily done with twice as much time, in the end I think I struck a pretty good balance between working, running some much-needed errands, and riding around to gain a decent feel for the city.
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Visas, S-21, & The Royal Commando

Justin — Thu, 09 May 2013 19:00:32 +0000

Is this really Cambodia? It’s hard to believe how different Phnom Penh feels from the entire rest of the country. Whereas almost everything I’ve seen so far has been well below poverty, here in the capital you’ve got huge palm-lined boulevards, Raffles Hotels, and glistening Mercedes abound.

In many ways, it feels like a completely different country than I’ve been living in for the past 2 months. You can’t help but wonder if the rural Cambodians – living in their thatched bamboo huts and hauling their water up from wells – have any idea how their country’s elite live every day…
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Grand Summer Plans

Justin — Tue, 07 May 2013 18:00:08 +0000

One of the most common things I hear from inexperienced travelers – whether they’re college students on a quick backpacking trip or newlyweds on a two-week honeymoon – is the intention of “getting it out of their system.” The trip they’re on, often a first foray overseas, is aimed at crossing that one item off their bucket list – to say “yes, I did it, and now I can move on.”
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Phare Ponleu Selpak

Justin — Mon, 06 May 2013 19:00:16 +0000

When I set out by bike early this morning, I never thought I’d make it back in time – but apparently the odds were with me today, as I finished my long ride with just 30 minutes to spare before the evening show of “PPS.”
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Phnom Sampeau & Banan

Justin — Fri, 03 May 2013 17:00:15 +0000

Although Angkor Wat is Cambodia’s obvious “crown jewels,” the area around Battambang does have some noteworthy temples of its own. So with a mountain bike already in-hand and an extra day to kill, another long-distance ride seemed like the obvious way to go 🙂
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