From ruins of ancient kingdoms to tropical jungles, a walk into Southeast Asia’s unending past This collection of travel essays does not stop at marveling over the historical and natural wonders of Southeast Asia, but provides the historical and social context of the sites as well. Visiting the Historic Town of Sukhothai, the capital of the first Kingdom of Siam, the author comments on the coexistence of Buddhism and Hinduism as well as Khmer influences during that period; in the forests of Laos, he encounters the Hmong, victims of the Vietnam War now living in remote mountain regions. In Cambodia he mulls over the trauma of the Killing Fields and shared similarities in Korea’s past, while in Myanmar he focuses on ongoing human rights issues, the role of monks in the civil rights movement, and the oppression of ethnic minorities.