Why Cambodia?

The story goes like this: I was working for a large US hotel company (now called InterContinental Hotel Group) and had a successful career with them. I had been traveling to SE Asia, mainly Thailand, for a number of years and felt the desire to live outside of the US. I had tried to get overseas postings with the company but the timing was never right. On one particular holiday trip, in August of 2001, I was staying at a small hotel (not well run, not so nice) in Thailand and thought to myself, "If these people can do this surely with my experience I can do better." That is when I decided I would pursue the idea of relocating to the region. Right after that, September 11th 2001, happened. Like most other Americans, it was an event that made you look at life differently, not wanting to miss any chance in life.

By early 2003 I had sold the house, sold the Mercedes and moved to Bangkok. I landed there with no great plan and certainly not enough capital to start my own hotel. I was fortunate to get hired by my friend Andrew Jones of Sanctuary Resorts to manage their property in Phuket. While I only worked there for three months, I got much more than three months of experience and learned invaluable lessons. Funny how you can get so much out of a bad experience. After Phuket, I came back to Bangkok and did some work on a project for Sanctuary Resorts there and looked at other options. At the end of 2003 I went back to the US for a Christmas vacation. During that trip I was asked by Sanctuary to contact them when I got back to Bangkok. When I returned I was asked to go to Siem Reap, Camboida to be the General Manager of Shinta Mani. Having visited Siem Reap four years earlier with my Mom, brother and brother-in-law, I quickly said yes and arrived to start work there on 22 January, 2004. Next: Why One?