'Discovering the heart and soul of Cambodia' Photography Tour with Michael Klinkhamer.

   
  all images by Michael Klinkhamer©

   

This one is for you!

Discovering the heart and soul of Cambodia and Thailand with your camera.

Private photography tour with Michael Klinkhamer.

Join us for this unique private 5 days or 10 days photography adventure in Cambodia and Thailand 2019. Dates: 3 November until 12 November 2019. *You can book separately the 5 days add on for the Thailand photo adventure.

It starts November 3th in Phnom Penh- Cambodia and ends on 12 November in Bangkok-Thailand.

We advise you to arrive in Phnom Penh-Cambodia 1 or 2 days before the photo tour starts to get acclimatized.

Cambodia 5 days: Phnom Penh street photography experience.

Mekong River. Angkor Wat Temples. Phnom Kulen Mountain Cambodian Jungle hike, waterfalls and, caves.

Thailand 5 days: Bangkok City street photography experience.

River Kwai Bridge in Kanchanaburi. Ratchaburi floating market adventure. Return to Bangkok for our last night photography tour.

For more information and pricing contact us: info@cambodiaphototours.asia

Cambodia & Thailand Photography Adventure November 3 until November 12th. 10 days.

Check our 10-day photo tour package including Cambodia 5 days and Thailand 5 days.

Cambodia & Thailand Photography Adventure in November 2019. Total: 10 days.

Inclusions:

All teaching (including optional night photography workshops) Photography guidance All transport (A/C car or minibus) 10 nights' accommodation.

Exclusions:

• International and national travel to and from Cambodia and Thailand.
• Entrance fees for attractions or park fees.
• Any kind of travel insurance
• Drinks and meals other than breakfast
• Personal expenses, e.g. laundry phone calls, gifts, etc
• Tips at your discretion.

Contact me for your custom-tailored itinerary and pricing for this photography adventure. Including all transportation and accommodations.

   

Cambodia 5 days: Phnom Penh street photography experience.

Mekong River. Angkor Wat Temples. Phnom Kulen Mountain Cambodian Jungle hike, waterfalls and, caves.

   For more information and pricing contact us: info@cambodiaphototours.asia  

Sunrise at Angkor Wat ©photo MK

 'Discovering the heart and soul of Cambodia'.
*Phnom Penh photo tour~*Angkor Wat Temple experience~**

Prices: Please Get in touch with me for your custom tailor-made itinerary, preferred dates, hotel preferences and personal budget or luxury travel requirements. 

Excl. International travel, departure is from Phnom Penh or Siem Reap. Accommodation will be individually arranged depending on your *** preference and budget from simple clean guesthouses up to five-star hotels, resorts, and retreats. Food and drinks and personal expenses.

Book here: http://cambodiaphototours.asia/

For full Itinerary scroll down.


'On this Seven or 10 days photography adventure we will discover the real heart and soul of Cambodia and by the grace of the Khmer people. Experience our own journey as an ongoing learning process. Exactly what our journey in photography is all about.

Sounds a bit heavy-hearted perhaps? Well, I learned here to take life as it comes and keep on moving. Very often I experience a feeling of great joy and satisfaction doing my photography here in Cambodia, enjoying all it has to offer. When running through my images in Lightroom, and deciding which ones to use for print, my enjoyment remains and even some years later.
I like certain pictures more, I must have overseen at first look often even more.
Great people, fantastic food and a unique ancient culture all mixed up like in an exciting bowl of fresh noodles, spicy and utterly satisfying.

It's also probably so exciting because It's not easy to fully comprehend the real context of Cambodia when you just arrive here for the first or perhaps the second time. That's why people keep coming back here.
And, yes Cambodia has got it's rough edges and poverty, but the way the local people seem to deal with all of that makes the place even more interesting.

The gap between the rich and poor is something that has inspired me for a long time, to capture those faces who do their hard work for little pay and live a tough life with their families, and still are so kind and friendly to welcome us, share genuine smiles as we meet them during the photo adventures and the making of reportage photo essays in Phnom Penh or in the remote provinces. That is really priceless!

The ancient Khmer Empire history and it's incredible monuments are of an existence beyond our grasp and leaves us in awe when we are face to face with man's creation, Angkor Wat.

Sunrise at Angkor Wat ©photo MK

Inside Angkor Wat Temple ©photo MK

The violent and destructive history of the Khmer Rouge era from 1975-1979 and the aftermath of the Vietnam war that has hit Cambodia's resilient people so hard and is still a trauma transforming for the better.

What really sets the Cambodians apart is their natural ability to enjoy life, warm smiles, and genuine friendliness will give you hope and is something to be grateful for.
Photography is luckily fully accepted and more often a way to meet and bond with locals than to be faced with frowns and refusal. Cambodia's people are open for pictures and video and sharing experiences, as long as you show similar respect and dignity.

Sounds too good perhaps, but it's real. I experience it here every day since 2011 when I started roaming the streets of Phnom Penh and the countryside with my camera and is perhaps one of the many reasons I decided to stay here for more than five years now.

Safety and street awareness is also our first priority and with a few good precautions and guidelines, you will be fine and feel relaxed approaching people for a picture. This is something we will practice and discuss to tackle on a personal level during the workshop.

Cambodia is geographically positioned just between the Tropic of Cancer and the Equator and has a hot and tropical climate all year around. Nature is a powerful force in Cambodia and we love to take you along from the busy city of Phnom Penh, enjoying the Mekong river to cozy Siem Reap home of the world-famous Angkor Wat Temple complex.

All these factors combined will guarantee that you will perhaps not find a better place to improve your photography and enjoy your travel for there is also such an interesting ethnic mix of people, ancient temples and pure wild nature and fine weather represented here.

What better guide and master photographer than Michael Klinkhamer, to guide you during your photo quest in Cambodia?


Some recent video and photography can be viewed here and on Instagram, please follow me for updates:

https://www.instagram.com/michael_klinkhamer/

Concept Itinerary: Contact me for a personal price quote and custom Itinerary available.

*Arrival in Phnom Penh or in Siem Reap, meet and greet and transfer to your Hotel.

*1st day, 9.30am-17.30 full day Phnom Penh photo tour. We will spend some time to set up our camera for travel and portraits and discuss/learn all the settings and options depending on your make of camera and lenses. We will visit off the beaten track places and hidden locations in and around the city and also visit places along the Mekong river and countryside with local temples and young monks learning and working. Lunch and afternoon session with the late afternoon light.
This Phnom Penh photo tour will show you a couple of great locations you'll won't find in any guide book or other tours. Get in touch with local people and experience daily life from the other perspective.
We finish the day with a cool beer, juice or cocktail before you rest at your comfortable AC hotel room.

Street live in Phnom Penh ©MK

Street live in Phnom Penh ©MK

Street live in Phnom Penh ©MK

Fortune Teller-Street live in Phnom Penh ©MK

Phnom Penh Streets © photo MK

Phnom Penh 'White Building' © photo MK

* 2th-day departure 8.00am to Siem Reap-Angkor Wat, we travel by v.i.p minivan- a/c bus or optional speedboat over the Tonle Sap river and the enormous Tonle Sap lake, this is depending on the season and depth of the Tonle Sap river. (flight are also available)

Arrival in the afternoon in Siem Reap (2pm) and check in Hotel and lunch. We will visit the Angkor Wat Temple complex for the late afternoon and sunset and get some amazing images at Ta Prohm, the tree roots tangled temple. Spend an inspirational relaxed evening in Siem Reap and do some review of the pictures we made in Phnom Penh and until now. (optional) We have dinner and unwind in Pub Street with some drinks. Remember we have to get up early in the morning for sunrise at Angkor Wat at 5am.

* 3rd day sunrise session at the Angkor Wat main Temple 5.00am, overlooking the pond and Angkor Wat reflections in the water from a distance.
It's a challenge to make this one your own because it will easily become a 'postcard' copy of what millions of people have done before. How to work this and make a spectacular personal image?
We will discuss this before we head out and I will give also tips how to enjoy this as much as possible and be 'in the moment', even if you don't take that timeless picture because sometimes you can't and sometimes you just put your camera away and look at what's before you and enjoy.....

Angkor Wat Sunrise ©MK

We will gradually move deeper into the main Angkor Wat temple complex in the early morning light and look for details, the light and find incredible stone carvings and ancient storytelling in stone engravings to photograph. There are also wonderful statues and Buddhist worship places, inside the temple corridors and hidden corners. There are some monks who are willing to give you a blessing and great to photograph here in this ancient sacred place.

Angkor Wat monks give blessings and prayers ©MK

 We will cover some more fairground at Angkor Wat Temples and have plenty of time after the sunrise to take it all in and do some great pictures, while the light is still nice. We continue until 11.00 am until the sun gets high and the heat and the crowds of people will increase and we are in serious need of Coffee.

Around 11.00am we will go back to our hotel to enjoy a decent brunch/lunch and shower after this glorious morning and prepare for our afternoon photo session at Angkor Wat. In the afternoon we have 2,5 hour time to catch up with some sleep or enjoy the pool, rest our feet, charge the batteries and prepare.
Don't forget the temperatures are in the 33c and this means we have to use our energy well. It is very warm and you will sweat and need a dry set of clothes for the afternoon session.

Around 2.30pm we meet up again and drive back by tuk-tuk to Angkor Wat, and this time visit the wonderful Bayon gate and Angkor Thom temple. There are some spectacular inner walls and hidden nooks there like a labyrinth and a little buddha statue to welcome us.

Angkor Thom gatekeeper ©MK

We proceed to the famous Angkor Wat temple Ta Prohm that is famous for its towering trees and roots that organically grow over the temple walls.
Here I found always good inspirations and if you wait for some group tourists to come and go we can have the place for ourselves and this is a very special experience.
I shot a video here with my mobile phone camera LG-4.

Ta Prohm temple ©MK

Ta Prohm temple ©MK

Ta Prohm temple ©MK

We will have plenty of time to explore this place and depending on the weather we will find a good spot for sunset photography and enjoy the end of this glorious day at Angkor Wat.
Return to our hotel for the last evening of relaxation and good food and drinks.

*4th and 5th and 6th day. The next day is departure to Kratie province and town along the mighty Mekong river.
Here we start the exploration of the Cham fishing villages and watch the Irrawaddy Dolphins along the Mekong, stay in pleasant Kratie town and explore the town and nearby countryside.
We will overnight the second night on the beautiful rural island of Koh Trong.
Here we find quietness and tranquility and opportunity to enjoy the lush Island and river beaches with fishing villages and traditional Cambodian unspoiled life.
Check out this page for more about the Mekong river photo adventure.
http://michaelklinkhamerphotographyworkshops.blogspot.com/2016/07/cambodia-photography-mekong-river-photo.html

On the 7th day, we depart back by taxi or minivan to Phnom Penh/ or Siem Reap for your departure.

For this photo tour or other information regarding photography in Cambodia contact me:
Cambodia Photo Tours manager/tour-operator/photographer Michael Klinkhamer.
+85560873847
info@cambodiaphototours.asia
Book here: http://cambodiaphototours.asia/

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                                                  *OPTIONAL PHOTO SAFARI HIKE TOUR*


Pailin is a small municipality in the West of Cambodia very closed to the border of Thailand. The provincial capital is called Pailin City and is known to much of the world as being the area where many of the Khmer Rouge leaders came from and retreated after their fall.
The city was during the 1980s and 1990s a major Khmer Rouge strongpoint and resource center. Even after the death of their brutal leader Pol Pot in 1998, many Khmer Rouge leaders still remained there. Some of the leaders went into hiding in fear of punishment for their crimes, although other leaders or henchmen lived openly in the province. It is said that almost 70 percent of the area's older men were fighters for the Khmer Rouge, but unfortunately, none of the regular fighters have yet been brought to justice. 
Pailin is worth checking out. The town is nestled in a beautiful valley with picturesque sunsets over the mountains that separate Cambodia and Thailand close by. 

We will stay at the Memoria Palace resort, a very special place where we can enjoy the silence and beauty of nature and the beautiful well kept grounds and it's a nice cool blue pool to come to terms with all the experiences and sight we've seen and things are done. Here we can enjoy the silence. Relax our feet and retreat to some walking and share our images, discuss the pictures, do some selection/editing and prepare for the next day's half-day hike into the forest.
Memoria Palace is a loose place in a good way. We will enjoy the place and space around us and have dinner, watch a photography documentary or just have a good night's sleep.
Next morning we will have an early breakfast and start our field trip at 8.15am.
http://memoriapalace.com/discovering-heart-soul-cambodia/

Our local hiking guide will show us the beauty and tranquility of the mountains and some hidden waterfalls and even caves. This hike is challenging but not difficult. We keep an easy pace and you will find yourself comfortably sweating it out and getting into a good hiking stride within some time.
The scenery is breathtaking and as the morning mist is lifting the light filtering through the tree branches and leaves will shelter us from the sun.
We will have lunch when we reach our destination and cool our bodies into the cascading waterfall.
We will descend down and return to the Memoria resort and relax before packing and departure.
Individually you can choose to remain one more night or if you prepare we will have your transportation ready for departure to Siem Reap International airport, Phnom Penh or a private car to Thailand/ Bangkok.
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Photographer and tour leader Michael Klinkhamer.