Angkor Wat (Siem Reap), Cambodia

After Phnom Penh, I went to go see the temples in Siem Reap. Below is Angkor Thom.



This place was really amazing - it looked like a full on movie set, elephants and all



I was sweating like crazy: it's really humid in these forests



This was the first temple I got to see, and it was incredible - the detail as I got closer was pretty inspiring



Once you get inside of these you start to quickly get a feel for how big they are, I suddenly felt like I was in a maze



Faces of the Buddha were carved into the stones every way you turned



Caught this scene as I was passing through a corridor



Many of the tombs have been standing on these grounds since the beginning of the 12 century



Those who come for worship leave small gifts and incense for the Buddha



The temple Ta Prohm had this amazing jungle overgrowth, yet the structure remained intact



The roots of these massive fig trees found their home on the roofs of Ta Prohm



More maze like features spanning the inside of a given temple



Down there in the distance is the Mekong - if you've ever seen Apocolypse Now, that's the river



Stopped off at Phnom Bakheng to watch the sun set with the monks



Caught this fiery sunset from the roof of the aforementioned temple



Got up at the crack of dawn one morning to catch Angkor Wat at sunrise



It was really amazing to see the sun come up over this thing. I'd seen the pictures, but much like the Eiffel Tower and the Taj Mahal, the pics just don't do it justice.



I stood in awe all morning of this massive three-tiered pyramid and its five towers



Just as the sun was coming up.....



Side view of the wat from the inside (left-wing)



The river surrounding all four corner of Angkor Wat



The detail of the carvings in these temples is astonishing. Below is a depiction of good versus evil.



Coming back down through the jungles of Siem Reap



As I usually feel, it's always bitter-sweet to leave these amazing places. Bye for now Cambodia.

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Landed in Phnom Penh, promptly greeted by the standrard array of tuk-tuks



There was a flurry of activity in the streets, despite it being quite early in the morning



On the way to my hotel, caught this monk chillin outside of a cafe



Saw this fantastic monument in the center of the city while in route



After lunch I headed out to the killing fields, first stopping by this high-school, which was converted to a torture house during the terror of the khmer rouge



This was one of the former classrooms where educated citizens were routinely tortured



Mugshot photographs of the many citizens that were killed in this very complex; the rows of shots spanned for as far as you could see



Inside another torture chamber - needless to say, it was hard walking around inside of these walls



After that exhausting experience, I went out to the killing fields - got a photo of this monk posting it on his porch



The first monument I saw here was a tower filled with rows of skulls belonging to the victims



Shot of that same monument above but from a distance



These large divots in the ground are mass graves, often times with up to 70 or 80 bodies inside



There was a chilling feeling in the air here - there's something absolutely terrifying about standing on the very grounds where a recent mass genocide has taken place



After paying my respects out in the fields, I headed back into town to soak in some of the sights of progress and re-building in this amazing place



Ventured into a market area where tons of trading and bargaining were going on



Also rolled over to Wat Phnom, the largest temple in Phnom Penh



I met Sambo here, who's the sole resident elephant living here on the grounds of Wat Phnom



There were also tons of monkeys running around this place



The temple up top of Wat Phnom on a beautiful sunny day



Needless to say, the look and feel of this place was very fascinating to me (similar to Thailand)

Koh Samui, Thailand

The other spot that expats kept telling me to hit was an island off the coast of Thailand called Koh Samui



As soon as I got there, I was immediately feeling decompressed. The place is gorgeous, and it's less touristy than a lot of the other islands surrounding Thailand.



Did some boating out into the ocean



Landed on a deserted island with absolutely no one else there - was great!



There were some really amazing views out here



Did some snorkling just off the coast of the island, saw so many fish I felt like I was in the middle of Finding Nemo



Also made it out to a remote village for lunch, was cool to chop it up with the locals there



Eventually we had to split from the village and get back to the main island since it was starting to get a little late




Since we were on an island, I knew there had to be great seafood



Dinner was incredible - had an absolute seafood feast



The chef even brought out the shark's head to put on display



The area was nice at night, with bars opening up right on the water and subtly lit



It was nice because tourist season was fairly low, yet there were enough people out to make things lively



Despite being full from the meal earlier, we managed to find an Irish bar on the island, which was so clutch



There were so many Irish folks at this place, for a minute.......I started to feel like I was back living in Dublin again.



And of course, 2 Guinnesses is always better than 1



At the end of the night, we set off a night lantern from the beach. It was a nice ending to a great trip.