Cambodia

I always look forward to reading Susan Spano, and her article "After the Killing Fields" [May 15] did not disappoint. I am 67 and have traveled extensively by myself. My trip to Cambodia remains my most memorable for the same reasons that Spano so eloquently details. Although the spirit of the people who managed to survive the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge is indelibly etched in my memories, so is the fact that all of the women I saw who, although they were in my age range, with their lined faces, stooped posture and toothless smiles seemed decades older.

1925: Saloth Sar, alias Pol Pot, born in central Cambodia. 1949: Pol Pot goes to Paris where he joins a group of young Cambodian revolutionaries, most of them Marxists. 1953: France grants independence to Cambodia under King Norodom Sihanouk; Pol Pot returns to Phnom Penh, trains with Vietnamese communist guerrillas, then works for his cause in the countryside. 1969: Secret U.S. bombing raids begin against Vietnamese communist guerrillas hiding in Cambodia. 1970: Sihanouk deposed by U.S.-backed strongman Lon Nol; the Khmer Rouge and Sihanouk join forces against the nationalists.

From LAX, Korean, Asiana, Thai, China Southern, China Airlines, Malaysia and EVA Airways offer connecting service (change of plane) to Phnom Penh. Restricted round-trip fares begin at $1,376, excluding taxes and fees. Asiana, Korean Airways and China Southern offer connecting service to Siem Riep. Restricted round-trip fares begin at $900, excluding taxes and fees. Visitors from the U.S. need visas to enter Cambodia, available at the Siem Reap and Phnom Penh International airports; Cambodian embassies; most border crossings from Thailand, Laos and Vietnam; and by email through the website evisa.mfaic.gov.kh ($25 for 30 days)

Pacific Delight’s eight-day Mekong River cruise from Cambodia to Vietnam aboard La Maguerite or Amalotus makes it possible for travelers to visit pagodas, shop Cai Be’s floating market, see a catfish farm and tour small villages as well as important sites and cities. Onboard are dance and musical performances, cultural discussions and themed dinners. Itinerary : Cambodia: Tonle Sap Lake to Kampong Tralach, Oudong, Chong Koh, Phnom Penh to Vietnam: Tan Chau, Sa Dec, Xeo Quyt, Cai Be and Ho Chi Minh City Dates : Departures through December Price: From $1,599 (prices rise later in the year)

Fifty years of civil war have left Cambodia a desperately poor and damaged nation with about a third of its 15 million people below the poverty line and a per capita gross domestic product of $739 a year. When Brandon and Andrea Ross started Journeys Within, a tour company and B&B just outside Siem Reap, in 2003, they also were struck by the living conditions, especially in the countryside where people lack clean water, healthcare and all but rudimentary education. Living here made Brandon, an American who grew up in Park City, Utah, appreciate his good fortune.

A muddy, weed-choked field in the hills of northern Cambodia is the last resting place of Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot, chief instigator of a communist regime that enslaved a nation, dismantled its social and cultural institutions and took the lives of 2 million or more people. In life, he was a cipher, known only to a handful of confederates. He died of a reported heart attack in 1998, with his revolution collapsed around him. While United Nations-backed war crimes trials of surviving Khmer Rouge henchmen drag on in Phnom Penh, and another strongman, Hun Sen, also considered oppressive, rules the country, the Cambodian people go about their business.

On business in Cambodia, budding photographer and Santa Monica resident Scott Fifer came upon this scene while exploring Angkor, an archeological site near Siem Reap known for its temples. "This young monk suddenly turned a corner, and I started snapping photos as he walked in front of me," he said. "He too was a tourist, but you could easily imagine this same image from centuries ago. " Fifer used a Canon PowerShot SD1300 IS. View past photos we've featured . To upload your own, visit our reader travel photo gallery . When you upload your photo, tell us where it was taken and when.

HAWAII Presentation Journalist Sara Benson will present "Top Trails Maui: Must-Do Hikes for Everyone. " When, where: 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Adventure 16 store, 11161 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles. Admission, info: Free. (310) 473-4574. CAMBODIA Slide show Mort Loveman will present "Cambodia: Road to Angkor Temples. " When, where: 1 p.m. Wednesday at Roxbury Park Community Center, 471 S. Roxbury Drive, Beverly Hills. Admission, info: $1 for Beverly Hills residents; $2 for others.

Six soldiers were killed Friday, three from each side, in a dawn shootout between Thai and Cambodian troops along their nations' tense border, officials from both sides said. The clash was the latest in a series of conflicts involving a contested temple and centuries of distrust. Officers from the two militaries sat down Friday evening in a bid to ensure that the return of calm late in the day would be maintained. "The situation is now under control," Thai government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said, adding that he didn't expect more fighting in the area.

Filmmaker Daron Ker's earliest childhood remembrances come from the three torturous years he spent in a malaria-ridden concentration camp in the center of Cambodia's killing fields. His next, more pleasant memories are of watching movies projected on a tattered bedsheet in a refugee camp just across the Thai border. "The one film that I really loved was 'Spartacus,'" Ker says enthusiastically. "It's weird, because I didn't understand anything. But it was the most powerful thing I had ever seen.