Cambodia || Personal Travel || Knoxville, TN Photographer

Soooo, this post is long overdue!  One thing you need to know about me personally is that my husband and I LOVE to travel.  We have been to 5 continents and over 20 different countries in the few short years that I have had the privilege of international travel.  It is most certainly our favorite thing to do.  We are not summer vacations at the beach or Disney World travelers (although YES we have been to those as well) those are not our preferred trips.  Seeing the world is.

You will see just how long overdue this is now… In February of 2016 (yep you read that right!) my husband and I had the privilege of traveling to Vietnam and Cambodia along with my sister-in-law.  It was her birthday while we were gone and this trip was her birthday present to herself!  As a young lady in her early 20’s she is headed in the right direction with her priorities.  She has international travel at the top of her to-do list and has already bought and sold one home and is on to her second home!  I wish I would have been that brave in my early 20’s, she is a BOSS!

Be on the lookout soon for a blog post on the Vietnam portion of our trip. Below are just a sampling of images from our travels to Cambodia.  It was a fascinating country and the vast number of stunning archaeological temples and sites were breathtaking.  The highlight of the trip was sunrise at Angkor Wat which is a World Heritage UNESCO site. We started out very early that morning around 4:30 am and waited along with thousands of other people in total darkness for the sun to crest the horizon and shine down on Angkor Wat.  It was well worth the early morning!

Another favorite was the temple of Ta Prohm which is most famous for its appearance in the blockbuster movie Tomb Raider with Angelina Jolie. It is hard to imagine that without careful preservation this entire temple would one day be swallowed whole by the vast tree roots that you see literally engulfing the site.

Enough talk… enjoy the images, sorry there are many!

Ta Prohm temple as seen in Tomb Raider! 

Our stunning hotel in Siem Reap.  The hotel had 6 rooms and I think we were 3 of the 6 guest there during our stay!

The famous bar Angkor What?  on Pub Street in Siem Reap

The night market and fair.  Yes, Jim and Tessa did try the deep fried beetles and other things… I elected to photograph it 🙂 

Sunrise at Angkor Wat

The below image give you a look at what the view looked like followed by a few minutes later a pull back of just how many people were all waiting around to witness the same beautiful site.  You had to get there very early to get a good spot not blocked by other people.

In the below image you will see the temple and the steps that we climbed, on the right is a perspective coming back down.  Yes, the first one is blurry… it was really all I could do to hold the camera up and not fall down the steps!  They are so steep.  

We visited an active Wat (Buddhist monastery or temple) and Tessa participated in a “Srouch Tec” ceremony which roughly translates into “pour water” and did that monk ever!!!  It went on for several minutes.  The monk chants in ancient Pali as he splashes water over you, washing away your sins and bad luck so you can start fresh and by being a good person can increase your luck. 

The reclining budda at Phnom Kulen National Park

Pub street is a favorite tourist hangout in the City of Siem Reap and offers many choices for dining and nightlife.

Below you will see we had a chance to visit the Artisians Angkor project where they employee locals in the production of silk. It was fascinating to see the process that is silk.  

Sunset from our hotel in Siem Reap.