Five of Us Riding Nowhere: July 2025

After arriving in Siem Reap, Cambodia, we were greeted by torrential rain. It was so bad that we needed to wade through ankle-deep water to get to our hotel. None of us were wearing the right shoes for this, so we had to slosh into the hotel barefoot. Apparently this is what they mean by the rainy season in Cambodia.

We had planned to go see Angkor Wat at sunrise the next morning. As we booked this with the hotel, he asked a couple of times if we were sure we wanted to do that and pointed out that we would need to leave at 5am and it might rain again. We had exactly one day to make this work, so like a Red Rocks show, it was rain or shine for us. And just like at Red Rocks, shows in the rain are a lot less fun. They also don’t involve the sun.

We were again greeted with rain as we left the hotel and there was no sunrise. But there were also no crowds. With our amazing tour guide, it felt like we had a private tour of one of the most spectacular temples on the planet. We also made it to Angkor Thom, Ta Prohm, and Bayon Temple. It’s all literally right out of Tomb Raider.

Of course, this also meant that we were all wearing sandals instead of proper attire to go hiking over and through ancient temples. Seven miles later, some sandals rub on feet in a very bad way when wet. We’re still dealing with the blisters.

No sun, no crowds

Did the temple come first, or was the tree here first?

Lara Croft looking smug because she chose the right shoes

Tokyo and Southeast Asia in July isn’t necessarily a great idea, but it is if it’s really the only time you can make a trip work. We spent two weeks last summer in the Southern Hemisphere and strongly believe it’s much easier to get warm than it is to cool down. After all, “it’s not the heat, it’s the humidity” – or so they say. But it’s the rainy season so how hot and humid can Tokyo really be in July?

We jammed a lot into three days. There were a lot of temples. There were many visits to the ubiquitous Japanese convenience stores, where 7-Eleven has the best ATMs but we liked the snacks at Family Mart. There were weird burgers cut in half. And there was a breakfast at Denny’s that was familiar yet strange. And familiar yet strange is a good way to describe Tokyo.

The Japanese are incredibly quiet. The near-silence while walking around busy streets was disconcerting at times, with no crowd noise and so many EVs that even the cars were muted. There really wasn’t any talking on the subway, and this became hard when we couldn’t hold back the laughter at the various approaches to gripping the handles on the train. The primary approach seems to be two fingers, but there is the four finger and for the adventurous, the one finger variation. There’s also a fist through the loop and a strange palm through the loop approach that also seems to serve as a good stretch. My favorite was the full hand death grip.

The Japanese are also incredibly polite, especially in the service sector. I tried and failed to buy a pair of Onitsuka Tiger Mexico 66 shoes in Australia, so my quest continued at the point of origin. However, it was not as easy as I hoped when the first store we went to had a line down the street just to get in to see if they were in stock. We skipped that one and tried a store near our apartment. And while they didn’t have the right size, the clerk went above and beyond to write down the stores that did have it with the addresses and all the information they would need. After I successfully secured the right shoes in the right size, the next clerk came running out of the store when she saw we were confused on how to get to the tax-free desk. But there is no polite on the subway at rush hour. They cram in as tight as possible, jam elbows into sweaty backs and body check everyone out of the way when the doors open. The contrast is confounding. Turns out the famous crosswalks at Shibuya felt more chaotic and rude than polite and orderly.

Some of the highlights included an incredible experience with the immersive art at TeamLab Borderless. Endless conveyor belt sushi where everyone had their own tablet and could order to their heart’s content (stomachs were happy too). And the kids have never, ever been to Disneyland or Disney World in the US because it’s ridiculously overpriced and overrated, but they have now been to Tokyo Disney. We chose DisneySea for the day and it was really consistently great. Tokyo and Southeast Asia in July isn’t necessarily a great idea, but it is if it’s really the only time you can make a trip work. We spent two weeks last summer in the Southern Hemisphere and strongly believe it’s much easier to get warm than it is to cool down. After all, “it’s not the heat, it’s the humidity” – or so they say. But it’s the rainy season so how hot and humid can Tokyo really be in July?