Images of Cambodia, Thailand and China

Travel home is always the most brutal.  I'm a bit ashamed to admit that after weeks of constant movement and travel, the trip home leaves me in the worst of moods...always.  Luckily for all those around me, sleep comes easily and grumpiness is usually contained.  

The trip flew by(of course) and included some surprises...like getting a surprise invite into Burma and a new China reg that allows 72 hour Visa free travel.  I was also able to make a stop to the Great Wall on my layover coming home.  

We visited Cambodia, Burma and Thailand as a team.  Visiting the Minefield Village, Mae La Refugee Camp and Chiang Mai orphanages was convicting, encouraging, heartbreaking, enlightening and motivating all at the same time.  I have about eleventy thousand pictures to edit so it'll be awhile before I can post some of the highlights, but I thought I'd throw out some of my initial favorites. 

We showed up in the Minefield Village a little before sundown to meet the kids.  They are quite obviously beautiful.

There was a bit of singing the next day and the kids showed up in droves to the school even though it wasn't even a school day. 

It's not called Minefield Village as a merely a remembrance--this is one of the most heavily mined areas in the world.  The HALO Trust is there daily and is still digging up an average of 2-3 mines per day.  There was actually a mine found during a secondary sweep just last year in the school yard which had already been swept for mines.  Luckily it was an anti-tank mine so none of their little feet could set it off.  Knowing that mines could be missed during a sweep hardly made you feel like doing cartwheels through the field.  Some of the older villagers are amputees. 

This sign makes me proud of my country.

Any Khmer adult over a certain age has a clear remembrance of the terror of Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge Regime and autogenocide.  Tears fell as some told their stories.  

I know you are not supposed to have favorites but this little guy in red captured my heart on the very first day.  He was wearing these shorts with a broken elastic waistband so he ran around with one hand holding up his shorts and still has joy of child who had everything he needed.  He doesn't have a sponsor yet and I wanted so much to scoop him up as well, but knew that I needed to save that sweet face for another sponsor.  I took some sponsor photos and we interviewed him so that he can brighten some sponsor's life....if you can't say no to the pure cuteness or are interested in sponsoring a Minefield girl or boy...LightBridge International is the faith-based organization I traveled with and sponsor through. 

This is Houng.  She is already sponsored but LightBridge sends out updates on her.  I knew her face and her story long before I ever met her.  When Houng was little she caught on fire. Without medical care, Houng was in incredible pain and unable to walk because of how the skin grew back.  LightBridge worked out the medical care, sent out  updates and prayer requests and the little girl I met was a happy, playing, skipping beautiful and sweet child.  

Changing gears, we spent a really quick morning at Angkor Wat.  Anyone who's been there know it's a multi-day thing but we made the best of our time. Tevas scream "sexy." Obviously. 

This young man is awesome and an inspiration.  He lives in the Mae La refugee camp along the Thai Burma border.  The plight of the Karen people and how they've had to flee from the ethnic cleansing and torture by the Burma government would be enough to warrant a little bit of dejection in anyone but his joy and giving nature is proof that the hope of the human spirit and faith can win out over circumstances.  He dreams of a day when he can return to his own country as a preacher.  

 I was going through Brooklyn withdrawals so might have been snapping pics of pups left and right. 

  

Also saw quite a few "kitties" at Tiger Kingdom in Chiang Mai.  When you are not a litigious country nor ultra regulated, you can let people in to get up close and personal with the tigers.  Really, really close.  I can shoot with a 35mm lens close.  

Actually so close that you can lay right on the tigers close. 

For those who've asked if they are drugged...definitely not.  They are just nocturnal and we chose to visit during the daytime.  Some of the trainers had claw mark scars on them and when we asked if they'd ever bitten anyone, they answered that it'd happened on occasion.  

After just a few tiger cuddles though, you almost forget they are wild animals.  Almost. 

And a quick stop at the Great Wall on the way back.  I did not think this one through all that well.  Who knew it was all inclines and and declines?

So many pieces and parts of this one trip.  Hopefully I can make a dent in some editing soon.