Cambodia Workshop

Cambodia Itinerary

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Days 1 — Phnom Penh

The program starts today at 3 pm with orientation meeting at the hotel. After that we go out onto the fascinating streets of the capital city, Phnom Penh. We’ll shoot near the lively riverfront this afternoon.

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The Royal Palace is here, along with the National Museum to use as exotic backdrops. There’s also a local Khmer street market, street vendors, monks and ceremonies, and sampans on the Tonle Sap. Also on the riverfront is the Foreign Correspondents Club where we’ll go for adult beverages and your Welcome Dinner dinner with a view. 

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Day 2 — Phnom Penh - Phnom Chiso - Markets 

Wander into the Phnom Penh market and surrounding area to see how the locals greet the day. Cambodians are remarkably friendly, and street shooting here is a lot of fun. After lunch and a rest back at the hotel, we head for the stunning views from the monastery with buddhist monks and ruins atop Phnom Chiso Mountain, with photo stops along the way. The trip is well worth the 600 steps!

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Day 3 — Phnom Penh - Silk Island - Kampong Thom 

Today we head for Silk Island, about an hour’s drive and a short ferry ride away. Silk Island is so dubbed because nearly every house has a silk loom or two, and produces fine silk textiles. There is plenty here for the creative photographer to capture some ‘silk loom action shots’, and village life in general. We spend about an hour on the island before setting out for the small provincial town of Kampong Thom on the Steung Saen River.

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Day 4 — Kampong Thom - Prasat Kampong Svay

The forest has claimed most of the rarely visited capitol city of Sambor Prei Kuk, the best parts of which we will check out this morning. Later we continue on to the more remote and mysterious temples of Bakan. This is another striking location rarely visited except by local people and Buddhist monks. Bakan is of the Angkorian era, and this is a very interesting and potentially rewarding place to photograph.

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Day 5 — Prasat Kampong Svay - Saem

After a tasty traditional Khmer breakfast, we say goodbye to our wonderful host family and hit the road for the village of Saem. Hotel check in, lunch and rest before we get high – to the top of a 525 meter cliff! Preah Vehear is UNESCO World Heritage archaeological site that commands views across the border into Thailand that are positively exhilarating. 

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Day 6 — Saem - Siem Reap

Early morning we again move forward in time and style, to photograph another off the beaten path location, the 10th century Khmer capitol ruins of Ko Ker. The most impressive and photogenic of the temples is the pyramid-like Prasat Thom. The mood, setting and light is like stepping back in time. It’s a large area, so feel free to wander on your own and soak in the ambiance.

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Then it’s on toward Siem Reap via the jungle clad “blue print” for Angkor Wat, Beng Melea.

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Day 7 — Siem Reap - Angkor Thom

We will be among the first of the relatively few to enter Ta Prohm early, which is a must to get a chance at some tourist free photos. From there we move to Ta Nei, and Banteay Kdey. After a leisurely lunch and rest, the afternoon features the best of Angkor Thom – the Bayon and the Terrace of the Elephants being the most well known. Then we get cultural with monastic water blessing for Khmers which is fun to photograph.

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Day 8 — Siem Reap - Angkor Wat

While all the tourists are gathered in position and waiting for an hour for the sun to rise, we will be photographing the starry night hanging above Angkor Wat with special access to this UNESCO Heritage site.

While the light is still good and where there are no others yet, we will visit the best unsung temple in the area, which boasts unobstructed giant tree roots swallowing large sections of the stone structures. Then we move to another quiet temple to photograph a lovely young Apsara “goddess” as she would have appeared in ritual dance before the ancient Angkorian kings.

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Days 9 — Siem Reap - Banteay Srey

This morning we will travel approximately 40km to the delicately carved pink sandstone temple of Banteay Srey, which enjoys beautiful light early in the day. Later we will continue to the sacred Kulen Mountain waterfall, Thousand Lingas carved into the river bed and have the opportunity to see a giant Reclining Buddha in the nearby pagoda.

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Day 10 — Siem Reap - Battambang

An early start this morning to catch the sun as it rises over vast paddy fields studded with coconut palms. Photo stops as opportunities reveal themselves as we head for the remote monastic temple complex of Banteay Chmar. In the afternoon we will explore the caves surrounding Phnom Sampav.

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Day 11 — Battambang

From the market we move on to Ek Phnom and its beautiful, centuries old teakwood monastery complete with friendly Buddhist monks. It’s a lot of fun to shoot around here, and we’ll spend the rest of the morning doing so. Lunch and rest break back in Battambang.In the afternoon we head to the old Battambang Railway Station, complete with very old rail cars. Continuing with the train theme – with rice paddies and locals around harvest time in the middle – we find ourselves riding the lightest little trains in the world, the Bamboo Express. There’s a great little village to explore at the end of the line, which among other things includes an old but working rice mill.

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Day 12 — Battambang - Kampong Chnang - Udong - Phnom Penh

Our adventure hits the road after breakfast for the renowned pottery village of Kampong Chnang. Here we’ll photograph the artisans as they ply their centuries old craft in and around numerous giant kilns. We have lunch here. On the way back to Phnom Penh we stop by Udong to visit a beautiful old teakwood monastery and its resident monks. ​

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Day 13 — Phnom Penh

Departure day. For anyone that has flights later in the day, time can be spent with image review and editing tutorial sessions personalized to your needs.