2020 Visit to Ta Prohm

Ta Prohm is my favorite of the ruins in Siem Reap province. This starts with the walk through jungle from the perimeter wall to the temple ruins. This post will be video and photo heavy, so please mind your bandwidth, but I included some quick text at the end offering some background on Ta Prohm….

2020 visit to Phimeanakas

Phimeanakas is one of the older temples in Angkor Thom built at the end of the 10th century. It sits in the walled enclosure of the royal palace and it’s southern neighbor is Baphoun. It was closed when we visited in 2020. It ended up being better that Phimeanakas was closed. After a long morning…

2020 visit to Angkor Wat

When Crystal and I visited Angkor Wat in 2007 there were thousands of other tourists present. We took the advice of a guidebook to start our day with sunrise at Bayon in order to stay one step ahead of the crowds but often still found ourselves surrounded by a throng. I’ve heard that the daily…

2020 Visit to Baphuon

Angkor Wat, Bayon, and Ta Prohm are the most famous temple ruins in Siem Reap province but the lesser well known Baphuon is just as worthy of a visit. Located in Angkor Thom, not far from the more famous trio, it seems unassuming from the road but it grows more impressive as you approach and…

2020 visit to Bayon

The Faces of Bayon Bayon sits at the exact center of the ancient city of Angor Thom, adorned with smiling faces looking out over the land in each cardinal direction. It’s widely agreed that Jayavarman VII, the King who built Bayon, served as the model for the faces. The same face features over the gates…

Phase 2 – Study Groups

Last week the girls started with their new school, The Giving Tree. The Cambodian Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports evaluated this International School as being in Phase 2 according to their COVID-19 prevention guidelines. This means that The Giving Tree has resumed in person meetings with appropriate safeguards but not in large groups or…

#27 Street 504

One year ago we were so grateful to inherit a furnished house and not have to look for a place to rent while navigating new jobs, new school, new culture, and so on. The house never quite fit us as a family but it was still a blessing. Especially during crisis times, like a factory…

One Year Anniversary

August 10 marked our One Year Anniversary in Cambodia. We celebrated by splurging on lactose free ice cream with sprinkles, dried fruit, and a banana.

Summer 2020 General Update

I wanted to give you all a quick update before getting into more specific details. YAMEN Departures: In my last post I shared that Moudy, our volunteer from Indonesia, made it home safely. Last week Jonathan and Victor, our volunteers from Kenya, made it home safely. There were a lot of COVID-19 challenges to navigate…