As I've mentioned, we're planning a trip to Cambodia in August. We travel long distances often, so don't feel compelled to engrave our trip in stone way in advance. There's plenty of time to book tickets and accommodation, and we trust that where we end up staying is where we were meant to be and that timing will work out just as it should.

Such a cavalier attitude, however, did not stop me from sitting up straighter and paying great attention when this article came across my desk this morning.

"Holidays with a conscience" started some bells clanging in this old noggin, and had me calling Mark over for a "How about this?" discussion.

Yes, we have plans to buy and brush a couple of coats of paint over the orphanage my kids spent their first few months of life in, and to provide extra food, medicines and other items while we're there.

Some of my time in Phnom Penh will be pleasantly spent at Kanya's Massage being treated to a range of therapeutic treatments by victims of acid attacks, and there are a number of other organizations we regularly support in the country.

And now I learn that two hotels in Siem Reap, the anchor town for Angkor Wat, are deeply involved in contributing toward the greater good.

Don’t just travel. Travel responsibly. Here are a couple of hotels that offer the tourist with a conscience the opportunity to help the disadvantaged in Cambodia while enjoying a holiday there.

In Siem Reap, two sister hotels are championing this cause wholeheartedly: Hotel de la Paix and Shinta Mani. They both sit firmly in the higher end of the market, yet they refuse to sugar-coat the place and its troubles with the gloss of luxury. Rather, they encourage travellers to connect with the locals and the land in all their bare honesty.

With an Institute of Hospitality training underprivileged Khmer kids in restaurant and hotel work that comes with an allotment of rice and a small monthly stipend for students, these hotels are changing the face of Cambodia long term, and feeding families in the process.

Guests are provided with a "Connections Menu" through which they can donate in various amounts and to a variety of options, from a $25 contribution that feeds a family for a month, to a pair of piglets ... a "Piggy Bank" that will grow into profits ... to school supplies, to wells for clean drinking water, to an entire house.

The hotels have also joined up with an NGO and started a community sewing school that gives a sewing machine to take home at the end of the training.

If you know of other tourism businesses that go by a "paying it forward", contribute-to-the-greater-good practice, let us know. Whether it be in China, Guatemala, Ethiopia, London or New York, getting the word out on companies doing the right thing is a good thing.