Ho Chi Minh City is the largest city in all of Vietnam. So you can imagine how we spent most of our day walking around trying not get run over by the millions of mopeds and motor scooters on the streets. Crossing the street in Ho Chi Minh City is an adventure that you have to experience. I would just close my eyes and walk hoping for the best. 

We went the presidential palace, got yelled at for taking cartwheels in the wrong place. We also went to museums were Americans were not talked about in the most positive light (a regular occurrence in Vietnam; which makes sense).

After a full day of walking around, we  enjoyed the evening with some bubble tea and AMAZING food.

Take a stroll with us.

We did get separated while in town though trying to find a hostel. Everything was booked. So we had to split up.

But, I remember staying in the fanciest place the whole entire trip. My room had three beds. My hostel had a pool & margaritas. Hoi An is also extremely famous for clothes and shoes. Whatever custom clothes you want made, they will make it for you. People from all over the world come to Hoi An to get clothes made at a super cheap price.

I was in heaven. 

We quickly went into town and explored and found out that the festival was going on.

It was where I took that one picture.

A picture of a girl setting her lantern on the water.

The picture that started it all. 

The picture that got me emails from National Geographic magazine editors.

It seems so long ago now.

Hoi An, Vietnam. 

Here it is.

The trip into Vietnam is only referred to as indescribably horrible. A 17 hour bus ride from hell would make anyone try to lock that part of their memories away for life. I remember naming our bus “El Furioso” and naming the girl on the seat next to me (who used my butt as her feet warmer) “La Puta”.

Midway through our trip, our back windows slipped off and our headlights broke. They tied two flashlights to the front of the bus for the rest of the trip.

As soon as we crossed the border to Vietnam, we were taken to the outskirts of Hue and dropped off on the highway. No joke. We basically had to hitch hike our way into town on the back of stranger’s motorcycles. 

Once we settled into one of the nicest hostels in our entire trip. We explored the city, had amazing food and retold stories of what had happened during our separation (i.e., me driving headfirst into a car).

Hue, Vietnam.

Looks comfy right?

El FURIOSO

The picture above shows the house we were able to stay in while we visited Angkor Wat and the surrounding temples. It was incredible, and such a welcome relief from some of the horrible hostels that we had to put up with. It was a beautiful home and we were hosted by a beautiful family. We spent our second day exploring more temples around the area and enjoying some night markets and local parks.

If you have a top ten list of places to visit. I truly hope that Cambodia & Angkor Wat are on that list. Trust me. It is breathtaking.

Our time in Siem Reap was extremely special. Not only was it the only place we didn’t stay at a hostel; it was the only place where we stayed with an incredible family. Universal nice guy Greg, had a co-worker who graciously offered us a place to stay with her family in Cambodia. Not only were we glad to be avoiding hostels where horror films are made, we were staying at an INCREDIBLE home. As soon as we arrived  and got settled in Siem Reap, our amazing hosts wasted no time.

“You have to see the sunset at the temples of Angkor”

So now, when anyone asks me for advice on what to do in Cambodia, I tell them their top priority should be to see the sunset (or sunrise) at the famous temple of Angkor Wat.

It will blow your mind. Not just the sunset, but walking around the temple grounds will leave you in awe.

Out of all the countries I visited in Southeast Asia, the people of Cambodia stand out the most. It is crazy it wasn’t so long ago that these people survived a massive genocide. It seemed as if everyone had a story about how it affected them. A brother lost, children kidnapped, parents tortured, teachers taken away, etc. I remember, one day when I was by myself, a taxi driver was telling me a story, about losing his entire family, that had me in riding in stunned silence.

There is an agreement that they are not to disturb the remains still present in the field. Commonly, bones and clothing surface after heavy rainfalls due to the extremely large number of bodies still buried in the area. It is not uncommon to run across the bones or teeth of the victims scattered on the surface as you tour the memorial park. I really have no words can describe the feeling you get when you are walking on grounds and remnants of one of the worst human tragedies of the last century.

I strongly recommend people watch [The Killing Fields], a heartbreakingly beautiful movie about Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge.

It seems just like yesterday that I took a trip, a trip around the world.

A trip that completely changed my life.

I could go on and on explaining to you why this trip completely changed my life, but I am not a novelist. But, lets just say that it opened my eyes and made me reevaluate everything I was working toward. You could say this is the trip where my photography career began. It started with me, my backpack, my camera and two amazing friends.

It ended with countless memories.

So why now? Why, almost four years later am I barely getting to edit these pictures of Southeast Asia? Well, maybe because now I am less intimidated opening a file filled with thousands of pictures and not knowing where to start. It started with photography being a personal thing, and lately, its become less and less personal. I want to change that. I want to remind myself that this started because I wanted to do it for me, because it was something I was born to do.

So here is the start of many posts from that epic trip. And it starts with one of the most magical days of my life. 

Meet the orphan children of [The Lighthouse Orphanage] in Cambodia. It was a day filled with smiles that warmed my soul. They have almost nothing, but everyday they find a reason to beam those wonderful laughs and smiles.

I will never, ever, forget that day. That day they allowed me to play hangman with them. That day they shared their fruit with me. That day that their laughter was so joyous and boisterous that, if I think hard enough, I can hear it just as if it happened yesterday.

That day that a small group of children taught me to always smile.  

Also, if you have forgotten, they sang that [I Was Their Sunshine].

“The truth is that it is all the memories, the good ones and the heartbreaking ones, that make you who you are as a person.” – Scrubs