Finally starting to finish up my footage/journaling of my travels to Asia this year.
If you want to see me smile, drop me in a foreign country, with little amenities, and no tour guide. This smile only comes from that.
I’ve always loved traveling, it didn’t matter if it was a few hours or a few oceans away. When I was a kid I always loved being on the road, I would always take pictures of random things with disposable cameras and my parents would be very mad when they got the film developed; and I never got homesick.
Not much has changed internally. I’m still that kid who would rather be anywhere else, taking too many photos (thank goodness for digital), and who never misses her own bed.
My grandmother told me once she wept for me because I didn’t have a “home”, I was a runner, and she hoped I’d find peace... that has always stuck with me- and tho I’m finding some peace staying still these days; a part of me will always be running. And I think that’s ok.
Now for one of the most magical times:
The temples of Angkor in Cambodia...
Woke up around 5 am today, which compared to our trend of 3 am was a definite upgrade. After a lovely cup of green tea on our balcony in the dusk light, and breakfast by the pool, we got picked up by Tou again.
(After dropping us off at our hotel yesterday he offered to pick us up again today- we think we'll use him the whole time we're to stay here in Cambodia.
Traveling to Angkor Wat today... I believe tuk-tuks will always be my favorite way to travel...
We arrive...
Wow, that is all. One of the oldest and the largest religious monument ever constructed. Once the capital of the Khmer Empire. 900 years old. The 7th wonder of the world.
The whole Angkor complex covers roughly 400 square kilometers, and is comprised of over 1,000 temples.
It is stunning.
We spend the day exploring the different temples, playing with monkeys (who roam freely among the temple grounds.
We travel the massive grounds that hold Angkor Thom, Angkor Wat, Bayon, and Ta Prohm (where Tombraider was filmed btw!)- and Awe inspiring is all that comes to mind. Being there all I kept thinking is how it must have looked all those years ago, and the stories its walls must keep. Angkor Wat is sort of like Cambodia as a whole- on the outside it may look quite broken down.. but oh how beautiful it really is..
If you want to feel small, go here. If you want to feel awe, go here.
After the temples Tou took us to a local restaurant, we insisted he join us for lunch. Over bowls of soups, curries, and rice Tou told us about his family. His wife, 3 kids, and his mother. There are little girls at the door of the restaurant begging for us to buy some cheap looking souvenier type things for $1 a piece; they have been following us down the street.
Tou explains they probably go to school then after sell little trinkets for little money so they can pay for their studies.
We pay for lunch then give the girls money towards their schooling.
Everyone in Cambodia is so hungry for money. Eeryone is trying to sell you something. Surprisingly unlike soliciting in America it doesn't bother me. It is only eye-opening. There is very little money here. Tou explained that most people are only bringing home $100-$150/ month and some less than that. Some travel all they way to Thailand to work because they can make a little more money there. It's funny, because here- where most people have so little- everyone is so kind. Big smiles, no worries, very helpful. A stark difference to the spoiled America that I call home. Where most people have everything, but it's still not enough.
On our tuk-tuk ride back to the hotel- sweaty, very dirty feet, and tired bodies- I was looking around me. Passin by the rest of the temples, passing locals enjoying the weather, laying on picnic blankets by the lake with eachother, artists in shacks painting masterpieces, shopkeepers trying to sell foods and goods, the many motorcyclistsrushing around us... The wind in my hair and surrounded by such splendor.
Check out the rest of our photos and video footage down below, it's definitely worth a look.
Cambodia, you are so beautiful. My favorite place I have ever been.
xx,
Vox