The Mighty Mekong
After a week in Indonesia (and a great weekend of birding in Bali), my March work trip continued with a week spent in Cambodia. Most of it was, of course, a real work trip with birding restricted to morning lists of city birds from my hotel or some random observations from the field. I did manage to get a hotel next to Wat Phnom in the center of the city, which of course meant a brief late afternoon walk to see the absurd flock of feral Great Hornbills and Writhed Hornbills. I totally shouldn't count either of those on my life list considering that they're likely escapees from some rich guy's private aviary, but on the other hand they're great fun to watch. Digibinned Great Hornbill at Wat Phnom Otherwise, my time in Pnom Penh was pretty much just work, along with chances to try as many different Cambodian dishes as I could find. Similar to the rest of mainland Southeast Asia Khmer cuisine makes use of lots of flavorful sauces, spices and herbs and a diverse variety ...