Travel Recs: Angkor Wat, Japan, Taiwan, Roatán

Below are my personal notes and quick-hit recommendations from recent trips. I kept it practical: where to stay, what to do, and the few places that were actually memorable for food/experiences.

Cambodia — Angkor Wat

Followed what Reddit said and had an amazing trip 2 day. Would highly recommend what we did if you want to see Angkor Wat. Here's everything you need to know to have a similar trip:

Hotel - Park Hyatt in Siem Reap was a consistent top choice according to several Reddit threads. It was worth it and so convenient. They arranged everything for us (airport transport, private tour of Angkor Wat, and incredible food onsite). The trade off was cost but the prices weren't too bad. Rough cost breakdown:

• Room = ~$200 per night
• Breakfast = complimentary (the food was incredible)
• Lunch / Dinner = ~$30 per person
• Private Tour Guide = ~$100 total
• Airport transport = ~$100 total each way (only thing I felt was price gouging, the rest was reasonable)

Visas - You can come unprepared and just do Visa on arrival at the airport Flights - Nearest airport is the SAI airport

For Angkor Wat, we didn't buy our tickets in advance. It was easy to do everything the day of with the tour guide.

Japan — Food + Onsen hits

Been to Japan ~10 times and went to most top places at least once (Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hokkaido, Nikko, Hakone, Nara, Kobe). Here's my holy grail food list:

Tokyo:

• Gyukatsu Motomura Ueno
• Tonkatsu Maisen Aoyama
• Ichiran Ramen
• Kyūbey — you'll need a reservation

Osaka:

• Zauo Fishing Restaurant — catch live fish for dinner
• Uoichi Shokudo — best donburi of my life
• Okonomiyaki Chitose

Kyoto:

• Katsukura Tonkatsu Sanjo Main Store

Other:

• Kobe Beef Steak Restaurant Royal Mouriya — best steak of my life

Onsen stays (favorites):

• Gora Hanaougi — everything was high quality, favorite overall stay
• Hakone Onsen Yuyado Yamanoshou — small and quiet; prefer to larger onsens

Unique experience:

• teamLab Borderless — immersive digital art at an insane scale

Taiwan — Taipei, Tainan, Taroko Gorge, Sun Moon Lake

Went to Taiwan for ~20 days, tried dozens of restaurants, and hit the popular spots. Top food:

• Best Taiwanese Beef Noodle: Halal Chinese Beef Noodles
• Best Night Market Food: Fuzhou Pepper Buns (Raohe night market)
• Memorable Duck: Xiang Duck Taipei

Top destination: Taroko Gorge — rent e‑bikes from Hualien and ride up. Stayed inside the park at Silks Place (pricey but worth it).

Honorable mention: Yongkang Beef Noodles — rich broth, touristy to some, still delicious.

Roatán — Scuba Certifications

Did 12 dives in 4 days to get Open Water + Advanced Open Water. Picked Roatan Divers — highly rated and great experience.

Best dives:

• Night Dive — for the “string of pearls” phenomenon. Cameras don’t do it justice.
• Mary’s Place — densest sea life, vibrant coral, fun swim‑throughs.

Food:

• Anthony’s Chicken — incredible jerk chicken; great value.
• Sea Salt — best “nice” meal of the trip.