Southeast Asia–Cambodia Trip Report and December Photo Tour Announcement

Image by David Cardinal via Flickr

We’ve never had a disappointing photo trip to Cambodia or Myanmar (Burma) and once again both destinations delivered for us on our recent photo tour. Whether it was sunrise from a balloon over the plain of temples in Bagan or sunset on the Irrawaddy River while we visited with fishermen and their families at their seasonal camp on the river bank the trip was chock full of great experiences and unique photo opportunities. And even though tourism is rebounding throughout the region there were still plenty of chances to get early morning vistas of ancient Khmer temples all to ourselves…

We started our official trip in Siem Reap, Cambodia, site of the famous Angkor and Rolous temple complexes, best known of course for Angkor Wat, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Neil & Beth joined us from Phnom Penh where they’d enjoyed a few days seeing the sights on the way. While Siem Reap is now one of the busiest towns in Cambodia and has more than its share of tourists competition among the hotels and restaurants is still so intense that it isn’t hard to find some great local food at good prices. As usual we stayed close enough to the center of town that we could walk to the markets and restaurants but not so close that we were over-whelmed.

In addition to some of our local favorite haunts we were pleased with some of the new additions to the local scene like the Angkor Palm and Cambodian BBQ restaurants which both featured comfortable décor and excellent local menus. But of course the reason we were there was the temples and related Hindu and Buddhist sites. Not accidentally the town has sprung up only a few minutes from the closest temples so it was a simple matter to be out by sunrise but still be able to come back for lunch, a rest and a dip in the pool mid-day when the light was harsh and the air hot.

Angkor Wat and the Angkor Temples

Sunrise at Angkor Wat is a “bucket list” type experience and of course we were no exception. The only problem is that it always seems like every tourist in Cambodia has the same idea. It’s still possible to get some incredible images (I took the one to the left despite the scene around me looking like the image below).

Fortunately no matter how many others you share the experience with the first sight of the towers emerging in the dawn is breath taking. The sheer scale of the monument and the knowledge that it was built one hand-carved granite block at a time is almost incomprehensible.

One great thing about photographing Angkor from the West at sunrise is that the structure itself is silhouetted. That can be important as there is nearly perpetual restoration work on the temple itself so there are always some unfortunately colored green tarps somewhere on the towers that are hard to hide and painful to remove in Photoshop. But of course with a silhouette shot it is much easier to ignore them.

For this particular image I used an Infrared converted D70 to try something new, but the classic shot is certainly the sun peaking over the silhouetted towers as the first light shines across the reflecting pools (this one is somewhat famous for having been the site of the village in Tomb Raider)

There are plenty of tourists around for dawn at Angkor Wat, but fortunately most of them head back to their hotels for breakfast while we moved on to explore and photograph one of the dozens of other nearby temples many of which have very few visitors.

However for those planning on visiting Angkor Wat and the other Khmer temples sooner will be better than later. In 2010 the temples hosted over two million tourists and the growth rate is back up to about 20% a year like it was before the recession.

The result is less access (a good thing for helping preserve the temples of course, but not great for photography) and a need to go further to find temples without tourists. There is still plenty to see and photograph but each year it gets a little trickier to find places and times where you can really soak in the full majesty of these amazing structures.

Once the sun is up you begin to realize just how many other amazing structures are lurking in the forest nearby. Some of them like Angkor Thom are actually larger than Angkor Wat and offer even more impressive photo opportunities like those we found at the North and East Gates and the Bayon towers. This year Cambodia was blessed with a very strong rainy season so many of the pools at the temples had plenty of water. Since much of the source of power for the Khmer empire was their irrigation system—allowing them to have two or three rice crops per year, freeing up citizens for the army and temple building—and the temples are in many cases built to help glorify those efforts it is always special to see them in their natural condition with the various ponds and reflecting pools clean and full.

This panorama shows the reflecting pool at the pink sandstone temple Bantay Srei.

The Bayon in Angkor Thom features dozens of larger than life stone faces looking in every direction. The result is a nearly infinite variety of possible images with various combinations of faces.

The Bayon also features a stone frieze depicting both military and everyday life scenes. It is one of the only historic records of the Khmer period. All the paper records from that period have been lost or destroyed (except for the travelogue of an ambassador from the Chinese court which was returned to China) so the only information we have about how they really lived were stone carvings left behind. Most of them relate mythical stories or the lives of royalty so this one which features commoners of various races is invaluable in learning about the Khmer heritage.

Cambodia Today

As inspiring as the many ancient temples are they are only one reason to visit Cambodia. This primarily rural country has many small villages full of friendly people, colorful markets, and lots of opportunities to learn about and help with some of their unique problems.

A large portion of the Cambodian population was either imprisoned or killed under the Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s. Their “liberation” by the Vietnamese communists who then governed the country for another twelve years was only a relative improvement. But since their independence in 1980 the Cambodians have made great strides in creating the institutions of democracy and a market economy. But the legacies of decades of war are still visible. One of the most horrific was the seeding of the country with millions of landmines from the literally dozens of different armed groups that were involved in the string of conflicts that raged through Southeast Asia in the 50s, 60s and 70s.

Landmine Museum

Fortunately the clearing operation has been a tremendous success, but there is still more work to do. It is eye-opening to spend a little time at the Cambodian Landmine museum to learn more about this very dangerous devices and how they can still be killing farmers and children decades after they have been forgotten by the armies who placed them here. We were lucky enough to get a tour of the museum and an overview of the mine clearing foundation’s work from Bill Morse who sold his company in California to relocate to Siem Reap and help manage the effort.

Somaly Mam Foundation

We were also fortunate enough to be able to stop by a center for girls and women who have been rescued from the human trafficking trade in Cambodia to drop off a box of books which friends and local school children had donated for us to bring to Cambodia with us. The Somaly Mam Foundation funds the Center (called AFESIP) which teaches the girls to sew or become hairdressers and helps them with a sewing machine and their first job when they are ready to graduate.

Temples off the Beaten Path

Some of my very favorite temples are ones which are a little off the beaten path or not on the “whirlwind tour” list of sights. Standing beneath their towers in the dead quiet jungle you can almost imagine that you were back a thousand years ago when they were built. It is hard to believe when you first see the mammoth stone edifices but the Khmer never invented the arch, so all of the temples are made of stacks of large blocks of rock using either lintels or corbelling to create interior space. More incredible is that they did not use any type of mortar so the structures were all “dry-stacked” together, in many cases so carefully hewn that a piece of paper would not slide between blocks each weighing many tons—and hauled as far as 60 miles from where they were originally quarried.

Beng Melea has been left nearly untouched from the way it was found in the jungle. Since it was surrounded by landmines until it was cleared just a couple years ago it is also very well preserved. Wandering around it makes you feel a little like Indiana Jones.

Srah Srang Reservoir at Sunset. Water was central to the Khmer empire, whether it was the huge lakes used to feed their irrigation systems or “decoratitve” reservoirs like this one used by royalty.

Bantay Samre is nearly as intricate as the larger Angkor Wat, but because it is a little harder to get to it is much less crowded. Here Alison scouts for the perfect shot.

Keep in mind as you look at the towers and “hallways” that they were all built from large blocks of granite and sandstone (sometimes laterite was also used) that was stacked together without the use of arches or mortar. Many of the temples were still standing centuries later when they were first found by Westerners in the nineteenth century.

Other portions of the temples had collapsed and have been restored by various international organizations including UNESCO, who are also training many of the local Khmer to be stone masons and help recreate many of the buildings and statues which were lost, destroyed, or stolen.

Stairs in this temple, like many, were steep on purpose as the “stairway to heaven” was supposed to be difficult. Today many of them are protected with wooden overlays which will preserve their rock faces and make climbing much easier for visitors.

Beyond Angkor—Rolous

Many tourists never get a chance to get very far from Siem Reap and the Angkor temples, since it typically requires having a driver and vehicle and it helps to have a Cambodian guide to translate as needed with the locals. We always take a day to venture a little further afield and visit both the Rolous Group of temples—the pre-Angkorian Khmer temples—and the surrounding towns, monasteries and markets.

Many of the more remote temples are treated as a regular feature of village life by the locals. This girl was on her way to school cutting through the temple grounds when she stopped to pose for Alison to capture her portrait. Many of the children enjoy having their photos taken and even posing for shots in exchange for getting to look at the results in the LCD.

Feedback from our Participants

"I wanted to thank you for dedicating your resources to create an exceptional and multi-dimensional  learning experience in Cambodia and Myanmar. I learned a lot & really enjoyed and appreciated the photo safari. As I have mentioned, I am looking forward to your 2012 So. Texas birding trip"

--Bill F., Troy, Pennsylvania

"My husband, Jerry, and I enjoyed our photo safari to Cambodia and Myanmar very much. David Cardinal is not only a nice many, he is extremely helpful and accommodating. He chose areas to photograph that were not the usual and areas where we had as few people other than natives as possible. We have done several other photo trips with David and felt the same on those. We are looking forward to our next photo trip with him."

--Betty and Jerry W., Sugarland, Texas

"The photography was wonderful, and a challenge to me since I normally take landscapes, nature and animals,... but I have such of variety of photographs to work with, that I'm delighted with the results."

--Charles G., Arcadia, California

A Photo Gallery From Our Trip

After Cambodia, Myanmar (Burma)

Believe it or not all of this was only the first part of our photo tour. In our next post we’ll let you know about the second part of the trip—our visit to Myanmar (Burma).

Learning More & Announcing our December 2011 Trip

Of course we’d love to have you join us this December for our next photo tour of Cambodia and Myanmar (Burma) and that’s the very best way to learn more about this area and how to photograph it. This year’s trip worked so well that we’ll be using a very similar itinerary for 2011, of course with some new places and lots of customization based on celebrations and events in the region while we’re there. If you have any questions that aren’t answered by the web page feel free to email us at safaris [at] cardinalphoto.com

After our December 2011 trip we’re looking at January, 2013 for our next organized visit.

In the meantime there are some good books for background reading and for helping think about your visit: