• Asia,  Cambodia,  Snapshot Sunday

    Snapshot Sunday: A Cambodian Farewell

    Cambodia.  I’ve been here almost a month and as my time here comes to a close I’m looking back on what a fulfilling experience it has been.  I’ve volunteered, biked, beached, interviewed, photographed, marveled and most importantly I’ve learned A LOT.  One of my experiences here that will be a forever memory was spending another week with the elephants again this year.  There was a smaller group and a newer project making it that much more fun and rewarding to observe & interact with some of my favorite animals!  

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  • Asia,  Cambodia,  Snapshot Sunday

    Snapshot Sunday: Angkor Wat

    Cambodia’s most popular tourist destination, the UNESCO site of Angkor Wat.  The iconic view and visiting her surrounding temples will have you up with the sun, then out in the heat of the day, temple hopping to marvel at ancient ruins and explore what lurks behind each corner.  Sure, you’ll probably be the sweatiest you’ve ever been, but it’s worth it to experience one of the largest religious structures in the world.

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  • Asia,  Cambodia,  Snapshot Sunday

    Snapshot Sunday: Cambodian Hide-n-Seek

    I spent the last week volunteering at Cambodia Wildlife Sanctuary, 25,000 acres of protected land where we had the chance to farm, play with elephants and take care of other tasks to facilitate the project.  It was a fabulous opportunity to give back in helping to preserve a piece of disappearing wilderness and while there we had the chance to attend a local village temple ceremony.  We brought a donation for the temple and everyone was excited to invite us to participate in the events for the evening.  It was so rewarding to see an impoverished village come together as a community with such joy and happiness.  All the children…

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  • Asia,  Myanmar

    Snapshot Sunday: My Myanmar

    Wow.  Words are hard to express what an inspiring, magical time I’ve had in Myanmar.  The people are genuine, the scenery breathtaking and the history compelling.  I saw the country on all forms of transport, witnessed more sunrises and sunsets than any other visit and marveled at life here.  It is safe to say this isn’t the last Myanmar has seen of me.

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  • Asia,  Myanmar

    Snapshot Sunday: Bewitching Bagan

    What an incredibly special and beautiful city, Bagan.  The week I had here was truly amazing with sunrises and sunsets over thousands of ancient temples, exploring the history, meeting some wonderful locals, a hot air balloon ride adventure and if that wasn’t exciting enough, my taxi driver and I stumbled across a farmer and his wife along with their cow delivering it’s calf on the side of a small quiet dirt road.  It has been nothing short of magical here in Myanmar, many stories to come!  

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  • Asia,  Myanmar

    Snapshot Sunday: "Happy World", a Yangon Sunrise

    I quietly climbed out of bed, changed out of my pajamas and shuffled out of the room in the darkness.  Misty, the sky lightened as I walked down Wisara Road, the street that just yesterday was teeming with traffic, at daybreak was desolate.  As I headed into town the sun rose over a park with a gilded pagoda in the background and at that moment, it felt like truly a happy world.

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  • Asia,  Indonesia

    Snapshot Sunday: Balinese Cockfight

    Driving back to town one afternoon taking another way through a small village to get back to Ubud, we sped by a line of men, all sitting together with roosters in their laps.  It looked like they were all laughing, talking and enjoying the afternoon all the while sitting petting these chickens.  I immediately hopped out of the car, asked if I could take a photograph, everyone smiled and a few gave me the thumbs up.  I later learned from our driver that they are all grooming their specific birds for cock fighting, an event still practiced here in Bali today.

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