Fuji X-Pro1

Empires. The world has seen many empires come and go.  No matter how powerful they were, they have all disappeared for various reasons and you can see the remains of them today if you willing to travel. The tiny country of Cambodia in southeast Asia was home to one of humanity’s most powerful empires – the Khmers (802 to 1431 AD).  They were ambitious people led by even more ambitious kings who wanted wanted to be worshiped by their subjects – so they declared themselves to be god kings. To demonstrate their status as such, they erected stone temples that were built on a massive scale – unlike anything one could imagine, even to this day.  These temples dwarf most European cathedrals, even though the Khmers built them many centuries before.  They were truly a very advanced civilisation. I recently had the privilege of visiting Siem Reap in northern Cambodia which is an experience I will never forget.  The main reason for my visit was to see (and photograph) these magnificent structures – the other, to spend some time with the Cambodian people (still referred to as “Khmers”) who are some of the friendliest on the planet. I spent a lot of time preparing for this trip as I was traveling a great distance and wanted to make sure I had everything I needed with me.  The purpose of this article is to share my experience(s) so that photographers can prepare for their journey to this remarkable part of the world.  Keep in mind as you read this that I spent all of my time (nine days) in the Siem Reap area of Cambodia, which is a much longer visit than most.

This article is in four sections:

1. Before you go

2. Photography Advice

3. Other Advice

4. The Best Advice .......