Hi Everyone Hope we are all well. Where is Mongolia? Isn’t it part of China? Why go there? Let’s start with a brief description of Mongolia. Three million people live in Mongolia and half live in UB (Ulan Bator). Mongolia is the 18th largest country in the world. Mongolia is not part of China. Siberia lies to the North, China to the South and Russia to the east and west. Mongolia is the least populous country in the world. The country is slightly smaller than Alaska. UB is the coldest capital in the world. Mongolia won its independence from China in 1921 and a communist regime was installed in 1924. That communist regime latest until the fall of the Soviet government in 1990 and Mongolia now is a democracy. Russia was the second language taught in the schools until 2009 and now English has replaced it. The three most popular sports are horse racing, archery and Mongolian wrestling. The currency is named “Tugrik” and I took out of an ATM 200,000 Tugrik and it cost me $81. Food and other items are not expensive. The nomadic culture exists all over and the people are very proud of their past and nomadic culture. In Mongolia, there are 13 times more horses than humans and sheep outnumber humans 35 to 1. There are two major religions, Buddhism and Genghis Khan. Everyone knows who Genghis Khan was and the people worship him. So why go to this country that would seem to have little to offer? The people have always fascinated me. Their nomadic culture and way of life has always been something that I have had an interest in. I wanted to visit Mongolia and get to know the people. Andy and Kevin have given me that opportunity with this unique trip. So now that we know a little bit about this faraway and strange country lets start our day. Woke up at 6 AM and we all met for breakfast at 7:30. Breakfast was quite interesting, particularly the Mutton noodle soup. I have had mutton quite often on the Navajo Reservation and love the taste, but not for breakfast. We all then got on a large van and went to our first stop. There are no motor bikes nor Tuk Tuks in UB. Only cars and vans and lots of traffic. Not your typical Asian city that I am used to. The first stop was Gangden Monastery. I have been to quite a few Buddhist countries and each country has its own customs and differences. We were met by our Monk guide who was an older man. The highest level of monk in Mongolia is the llama. There are currently 3000 llama’s in Mongolia. They are the teachers and teach the younger monks. 600 llamas reside in UB. Religion was not allowed to be openly practiced until 1990. Zaya told me that before that time, the monks would gather secretly and do their morning prayer and teachings. Our monk guide is a llama. There were lots of smaller temples and prayer spin wheels throughout the complex. The monastery was destroyed during the 1920’s and restored and revitalized during the 1990’s. The name means “the big place of the complete joy”. I noticed a tall wood pole sticking in the ground and people were going over to it and praying and kissing it. I asked Zaya what it was. She told me it was petrified wood from a holy temple far away and the people carried it here and it never touched the ground. There was a very large Buddha statue housed in a large temple. The statue is named the statue of Megjid-Janraiseg. The original statue was erected and 1913 and destroyed by the Soviet troops in 1937. The new statue was started in 1991 and finished in 1996. It is 82 feet high and weighs more than 20 tons. it is made of copper and covered with gold. Very impressive. The monks were called to prayer at 9 AM. For instance, when I was in Laos, the monks were called to prayer at 4:30 AM. In Laos, large wooden drums made of water buffalo skin were used. Here a few monks climbed a tower and made a noise using a big conch shell. We then were told that when we go into the temples, we should walk clockwise around the outside while the monks were chanting their morning prayers. When we leave the temples, we had to back out and not turn our backs and walk forward. Got some great shots of some of the morning activities. There were times, while in the temples, when we were told not to take pictures. Andy and Kevin also arranged for some younger monks to pose for a small photo shoot. The llama who was our guide offered to answer any and all questions. We all fired away. The temples were all beautiful and rich in reds and bright colors. It was then off to lunch and some delicious Mongolian food. While we were eating lunch there was a recording of Mongolian throat singing. Very strange. Could never become a fan. We then drove about 90 minutes out of UB through rolling hills and plains with scattered Ger tents and finally arrived at a place where there was a huge statue of Genghis Khan on horseback. The statute is over 130 feet tall and is on top of a large domed building in the middle of virtually no where. Legend has it that this is where Genghis Khan found a horse whip when he was 17 and the statue also points towards his birthplace. The domed building had a huge Mongolian boot and large horse whip inside. We then climbed up to the top for a closer view of the statue and more photo opportunities. Now the fun really started. You can rent Genghis Khan era clothes there and wear them to take pictures. We all dressed top in 13th century Mongolian

Hi Guys Long time no contact. I was busy traveling. Took the long way getting to Mongolia and probably there is no short way, but first let’s start in Cambodia. Found it hard to sleep on Sunday night. My mind kept on racing and revisiting the previous five days I had had with the Scholarship students and PEPY staff. How invigorated my mind feels now. My soul and spirit have been refreshed and life on the other side of the world seems very distant. Manin picked me up at the hotel at 8:30 AM and we went to the PEPY office. My game plan was to spend as much time as I could with the students. I brought my suitcase and everything else with me so that I could leave from there to the airport. So let try to paint a picture for you. The thirty students were all sitting around the edge of the classroom and I put my suitcase in the middle of the room. I then opened my suitcase and took everything out in front of them. Showed them all my winter clothing. Coat, hats, gloves, scarves etc were passed around the room and I told them to wear them if they wanted to. Most of them wore them and started to take some pictures wearing them. They had never seen these type of clothes. It was very entertaining for them and myself. We had a ball. I then got back to my pictures and discussed with them further the differences in climates in the countries I have visited and showed them examples of those differences. Some pictures were taken in Iceland where darkness never came and they were staring in wonder as I described things to them. Showed them pictures of puffin. Puffin’s are beautiful and colorful  birds that are native to Iceland.  One pair mates for life and they will continue to mate but only together. They never get a divorce and the male sits on the eggs while the female hunts for food. I then restated to them why I keep on coming back to Cambodia and how special they are. How they need to do the best that they can be. They need to set examples and be role models for their siblings and others in their villages. They understood and assured me that they will all do their best. It was then time to say my goodbyes to the PEPY staff and how I loved being with them and watching some of them grow and develop. Then went to the airport with Sarrak, Kimsru and Konnetha. How special these three are to me. They all have a special place in my heart and soul. I will carry these memories with me until we meet again. It was now time to start my next adventure and go to a country and meet people that I had always wanted to experience. There were problems throughout the trip. When I got to the airport and checked in, I was flying with Air Asia and not China Southern. I flew on China Southern here from NY. My suitcase coming  here was not overweight, but was now. Winter clothing is much heavier. Did not want to carry my winter coat for the next twenty four hours so I bit the bullet and paid an extra $175 for my suitcase all the way to Beijing. The flight to Kuala Lumpur was interesting. Sat next to some muslims from Kuala Lumpur and told them where I was going and said that I would be cut off from cell and internet service. They said they could not live without these. We talked and talked for the next three hours and finally arrived. Kuala Lumpur Airport is big and lots of people are running around. I had to get my suitcase, go through immigration and customs and then recheck in. Even though I had a four hour layover, it took me quite a while to wait on lines and redo everything. Second problem. My boarding pass had the gate number on the ticket, but when I got to that gate, and the gate and location was different. The wrong gate number was printed and the new gate was a gate that was way on the other side of the airport. So had to go through two more security checks. Waiting online, taking everything out and finally got to the correct gate just in time. It was then onto Beijing. A six and one half hour flight. There was less than five foreigners on the plane and I was one of them. Don’t believe that China is a communist country. People seem to have great freedom to travel if they can afford it. Landed at 5 AM and then had to go through the same procedure again. Through immigration and customs. Picking up my suitcase and recheck. Lines and more lines all over. In China, they had me take out all my camera gear every time and inspected it.  Landed in terminal 1 and found out that my flight to Ulan Bator was in terminal 3. In the future, I will refer to Ulan Bator as “UB”. Was told to go outside and get a shuttle bus to terminal 3. You need to realize that each terminal is at least the size of Newark Airport. Went outside with my suitcase, camera backpack and carry on attached case and saw a long line waiting for the shuttle bus. By this time I was exhausted, totally sweating and my arms and legs were aching. What do I do? I decided to try a NY way of getting out of problems. Saw a woman who was wearing the uniform of being employed by the airport and told her my situation. Told her that I am 68 and 1/2, have been traveling all day and that maybe she could put me on the next shuttle bus. Now she pulled a NY scene on me. What

Hi Everyone I am not going to repeat myself and say another amazing day in Cambodia, but it was. The last time I will be saying that until May. Was picked up at 9 AM by Sarrak and taken to the PEPY office. All the scholarship children were waiting there for me. Imagine they were all there on a Sunday morning for me and a meeting after that. Had about a 1 hour talk with them. I showed them where I am going tomorrow on a globe and what the weather is like there. I explained to them that I have been to countries where it is light 24 hours a day. They asked me to explain and I told them that all the countries north of the equator have the reverse seasons than the countries south of the equator. So when I was in Iceland two years ago in late May, it was light all the time. They wanted to see pictures of that and tomorrow I will show them. I told them that I will be going to the South Pole in December and it will never get dark and it will be Spring since the South Pole is south of the equator. They loved talking about the various countries and weather. Tomorrow I will be showing them the winter clothes I have packed for Mongolia. I brought with me a winter coat, snow and ski pants, long johns, hats and gloves. They have never seen clothes like this and am so excited to see and touch these clothes. They wanted me to talk again about my dog sledding trip. They really loved hearing about the Alpha dog and the team of dogs again. Pictures so bring out what I am talking to them about. They can relate to these experiences and see what I see. What a media of expression and learning if used in this way. After about one hour, I was forced to stop talking and myself, Sarrak, Kimsru, Chhunnay, Channa, Sophia and a new person, Jake went to the floating villages and Tonle Sap Lake. Jake is another Fulbright Scholar who graduated from a small college named Washington Jefferson College and is studying Tonle Sap Lake and the fishing industry around and in the lake. We had some interesting and educational conversations. I had previously been to Tonle Sap Lake with Olivia in 2012. Then we took a long boat to some floating villages. Olivia still comments about her experience there and the fish farms she saw. In 2015 I went with Kimline to the floating villages except it was the dry season and the villages were not floating. Now it is the end of the wet season so that the rivers and lake were all acting the way they should and all the villages were floating. Water is very important to the people of Cambodia. The reason why the Khmer people built Angkor Wat 1000 years ago where it was built is due to the closeness to Tonle Sap Lake. Tonle Sap Lake is the largest fresh water lake in Southeast Asia. There are lots of moats around Angkor Wat. The Khmer engineers, when they built and planned Angkor Wat, had the builders put various levels of sand in the moats so that the water would constantly move and circulate around the complex. We drove around one hour over some dirt roads and rural villages to a small dock and all got into a long boat drive by a Khmer boy who looked to be about ten years old. It was so beautiful taking the long boat downstream. The river flows into the Lake. We passed floating villages where people were busy doing their daily activities. I took so many pictures from the boat of life on the Tonle Sap River. It was a cloudy day and perfect for pictures. People were swimming in the water and having a great time. A foreigner should not try to swim here. Besides the risk of snakes, you would probably get very sick from some parasite that your body has never encountered. We then stopped in at a sort of tree house restaurant built on stilts. We took some stairs up to a walkway where there were lots of open air rooms where locals were eating and enjoying themselves. We finally sat down and had lunch. Had some great rice with a whole fish that was cooked perfectly. All local and great. While we were having lunch, the rains came. It poured all throughout lunch and I mean poured. I had never seen rain in Cambodia until this trip. Have always visited during the dry season. The rice patties are so green and lush now. I had only seen them when they were brown and ugly. After we had lunch we then took the long boat into Tonle Sap Lake. Saw so many people swimming and having a great time. Wanted to jump in,  but of course resisted. It was then back to the dock and the hustle and bustle of Siem Reap. Went back to the hotel to rest before dinner and walked over to “Gloria Jeans” for a great glass of iced java served the old fashioned way. It was then rest time and taking a long cold shower. At about 5:30 I heard rain coming down in buckets. Kimsru and Sarrak met me for dinner. Kimsru brought me some durian. We all remember what durian is. The fruit that no one loves. Dinner was great and the three of us had long conversations about America and our lives experiences. While we were eating our durian on a table outside and under a tarp, it began to rain even harder and the water started to drip onto us. It was then time to move inside, but we were not allowed to take the durian in with us to finish eating it. Poor durian. So few people love it. Walked back in the rain

Hi Everyone Hope all is well on the other side of the world. We are all so disturbed by all that is going on in our world. The news seems to get worse and worse. So lets focus on better and exciting news. Another amazing day in Cambodia. How many times have I said this over the years? That’s why I have made eight visits. Got up this morning and had breakfast with my friend from Tasmania. This is her first visit and she is taken back by the kindness of the people. We talked but she needed to leave since she was going to visit Angkor Wat. After breakfast went upstairs and rested. I then went out for my daily walk to “Gloria Jeans” but was hit by waves of “Africa Hot”. Immediately turned around and went back upstairs. I then checked my emails and received a very touching email from one of the scholarship students. I quote: Dear Larry! Hi Larry, my name is Brathna. I’m scholarship student of PEPY. I’m glad to see you and to know you. I want to be with you and want to know you forever. I hope you do not disagree you will be able to continue to be with me forever. Best Regards   Sarrak picked me up at 9:15 AM with Kimsru, Chhunnay, “Soury and Channa. Chhunnay, Soury, and Channa are former scholarship students who are now part of the staff of PEPY. I remembered them and they remembered me from past years. Of course there was Kimsru. I wish I can bottle her energy, laugh and excitement. We all need some of Kimsru. A very special person. We were going to visit the homes and families of Chhunnay, Soury and Channa in the countryside. After about an hour drive past green rice patties, road side food vendors and weird looking vehicles, we finally arrived at the home of Chhunnay. His family are farmers. They grow rice and have a fish pond. Chhunnay told me that his father would raise the fish with turtles and sell them when they reached a certain weight. I met his parents and saw what they had and they only wanted their son to go to the University. Chhunnay now speaks perfect English and is a great role model. We then went to lunch. I had previously eaten in this beautiful Khmer restaurant set on a fish pond. Great food. We then went to Soury’s home. A long drive over dirt roads. Finally arrived. Her parents were so hospitable. They had bought local Khmer cookies and pastries for us and also served us mango and bananas. Her father was a former school teacher who has now retired and is a farmer. When we arrived we also met her sister and one of her brothers. Her sister, who was in High School, had written on a board that looked like a chalk board, her daily activities in almost perfect English. The chalk board was not a chalk board, but a stretched out tire tube. Most of the tires we use do not have tubes in them. Walked through her families home and farm seeing lots of dogs, chickens, cows and various crops. It was then onto Channa’s home. His family are also rice farmers. Most of the rice is sold as unprocessed rice to Thailand or Vietnam. Those countries process the rice and say that it is from their country. Channa’s family had just finished building a new home. The home took over five years to build. I can only stare in awe at these parents for wanting a better life for their children and sacrificing making their lives better to give their children the opportunity of getting an education. At about 4 PM, I was dropped off at the hotel to rest. A day full of emotion and awe. I felt like a wet hot rag. By the way, I received a whats app text this morning from Kevin Pepper. Both Kevin and Andy will be leading the group in Mongolia. Kevin already is in Mongolia. He texted that he just got back to Ulan Bator after living with one of the host families we will be staying with in Mongolia. I quote: “I can attest to the cold temps. Make sure you’ve got your long underwear and your fur hat, Larry”. Can’t wait to feel the cold. At 6 PM Kimsru picked me up for dinner and we walked to the restaurant. I had a great surprise. Kimline was joining us. Kimline used to be PEPY’s head internal accountant and then became President. She has left and started her own accounting business. She currently has four people working for her. Kimline is such a wonderful woman and she and I have shared so much throughout the years. She is such a great role model. To have accomplished what she has is a truly awe inspiring story. Hope everyone has enjoyed day 4. Surprises await me tomorrow. Love Larry  

Hi Everyone How come so few have you have reached out to me? Have not heard from most of you. How is everyone? Are we all awake and alive on the other side of the world? How did my day start in “Africa Hot” Cambodia?After I wrote my blog last night, I laid down and the next thing I knew it was 7 AM. Got up and went down for breakfast. Saw a middle age woman sitting by herself and she invited me over to keep her company eating breakfast. She lives in Tasmania. Next fall, I have preliminary plans to go to Tasmania and Australia for the month of October. Olivia will come with me for two weeks and then fly home to let me do my wandering. Told me a lot of great things about Tasmania and got her contact. It was then back to “Gloria Jeans” for some great coffee and conversations with some locals. I could stand outside my hotel all day and take pictures of the people passing by on their motor bikes, Tuk  Tuk’s and trucks. A real show, but have no time for that. Got picked up at 9 AM by Manin and off we went to the Pepy office. They drew a big poster welcoming me. I plan on bringing it home. As soon as I arrived at the office, I told the staff that I was mad at them. I told them I have been here for two days and have not had Durian yet. What is Durian? Some of you know what it is, but I will attempt to explain it again. Durian is a local fruit that grows on a tree in many countries of Southeast Asia.  The fruit is encased in a thick and hard shell like a coconut. The shell is broken open by someone using a machete and the inside is scooped out. The inside has a semi soft/hard fiber with a big pit in the middle. There is one problem with durian. Durian has a very foul smell. Most westerners do not like it and never eat it. I immediately loved it and have been eating it whenever I come to Southeast Asia. In NY you can buy durian in Chinatown. Once my sons bought me some and Olivia tried to germinate a plant from the seed. The experiment failed. I have been to hotels where there are signs on the doors and lobby saying “No Durian Allowed”. A fruit that only wants to be loved and I love it. The staff promised me that my wish will be granted today. I first had a three hour meeting with the staff explaining to them how to take better pictures and the art of photography and showing them the gear I brought and why I brought it. I tried to make a very complex media simple and interesting. Hoped I succeeded. They were very interested in seeing some of my images and had great interest in my pictures from Peru. They were fascinated by Peru and how the people have similar physical characteristics to themselves. More on this later. They also loved hearing about the national dish of Qui. Qui is guinea pig and I had it a few times while in Peru. Guinea pig is unknown here and when they saw pictures of a guinea pig, could not believe that people eat it. Loved hearing about Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca. I also read them my first three blogs I posted on this trip. It was then time for lunch. Lunch was quite interesting and I witnessed one of the beautiful characteristics of these people. There is a woman who comes in every morning and cleans the office. She starts at 6 AM and works most of the day keeping the office clean. The office consists of three floors of offices and classrooms. The scholarship students use the classrooms for special class work and computer time to supplement their attendance and schooling at the University. The classrooms have lots of computer stations and each student uses a computer. Manin is tech chief who keeps everyone running. The cleaning lady has been working for them for five months and is leaving. The staff took her out to lunch, had a big party and presented her with a beautiful framed certificate of employment and job well done. Do you see this happening in America? I am sure it happens in America, but not often enough. Everyone should be treated as important and needed people. Many of us have seen cleaning women clean offices late at night or early in the morning. I would think that most people are too busy to appreciate their work and effort. After lunch I Had further talks with the scholarship students. We talked about many things and I further stressed on them the importance of school and that they were the future of their country. I only hope that these people never loose the spark and drive to better themselves. I explained to them that I believe that these traits were passed onto them by their grandparents and parents. Their generations had survived their holocaust. I told them to ask their grandparents and parents about those years and write a journal about their families history. So much needs to be preserved and not forgotten. Being Jewish, I believe that when people go through an event of this nature, the survivors acquire certain survival skills that passed on to future generations. I then read my travel blogs for them. I would read a little in English, of course, and then a staff member would interpret in Khmer. Sometimes it became a funny and slow process. They then wanted to see more pictures of my travels. I then showed them Peru and explained to them the process of acclimating yourself to reach higher elevations. When they saw pictures of the Peruvians they also saw the similarities between them. I then showed them on

Hi Everyone How is the other side of the world? Do I miss it? Not yet. Miss everyone, but not the craziness of the other side. Fell asleep so fast and could barely get out of bed. Finally woke up around 7 AM and went down for coffee and breakfast. Sampled some great local fruits. Breakfast in Southeast Asia is always special and different. Then went back upstairs and took a walk to one of my favorite coffee houses. The place is called “Gloria Jeans”. Great African coffee served by Khmer people in a relaxing setting with real dishes and cutlery. No plastic nor take out. Was then picked up at 9AM by Manin and driven to the office of Pepy Empowering Youth. This charity is a local non US charity that is the successor to the original Pepy charity that was a US charity. The original charity had served its purpose and accomplished its mission. When the original charity was completely operated and run by locals it was decided to terminate since the mission had been successful. Olivia and myself had originally helped start a scholarship program for local students to go to the University in 2012. That program first started with two students and has now grown to over thirty students. Students apply, are interviewed and then have to sign a contract to stay in the program for the full three years. The Program has been overly successful and the benefits have been huge. Some of the graduates have stayed on working for Pepy and setting role models within their local communities. I went up to meet the new group of scholarship students and talk to them. We had a long talk about many things. We discussed why I constantly come back to Cambodia, how special they are, role models and life on the other side of the world. Kimsru stayed as my interpreter since they are a new group of students and their English is not that strong yet. We talked about why an education is vital and setting goals and striving to attain those goals. I explained to them how different education is today from when I went to school. Today you google something instead of going to the library and reading about it. You also use a computer to type and not a typewriter. Spent over three hours talking to them and answering question. At first they were shy, but as the morning wore on, they became much more inquisitive. I have done this in the past and love doing these talks. It was then time for lunch and had a great Khmer lunch with the Pepy staff. It was then back to the classroom for more talking and finally got around to my photography and why I have fallen for this media of expression. Whenever I pick up a camera I become another person and see the world on a different stage. I have been learning how to see what I take before I take the picture. I showed them the whole process and demonstrated my cameras and lens for them. It was then time to show them some of my images and experiences. I showed them how I created some beautiful images out of seeing things that most people do not see or do not look for. They then asked me to see some pictures about some of my recent travels. The one trip that they all loved was my Yukon trip. Most of them have never seen snow nor even knew what dog sledding was. I explained to them the Alpha dog and how to dog sled. When they saw pictures of the Northern Lights their eyes sparkled. We talked about lots of places I have visited and what I look for when I travel. It was so enjoyable showing them places and things that are so different from their world. Their eyes could not believe Venice and the boats and gondolas. Most of them have never heard of Venice. It seems to me that this is one way that photography can be used to teach others about places they can never be able to experience. I could go on and on. How they all laughed when they saw me bungy jumping in New Zealand and saw some of the beautiful sunsets from Antigua. By the end of the day the group had grown. We could have talked for many more hours, but they had school until 9PM at the University. I then went to dinner with Kimsru. We talked about religion and schooling. She was born in rural Cambodia. Her parents were rice farmers and her grandfather was killed during the Pol Pot years. She told me that no pictures exist of her grandfather and she only knows what she knows from other family members. Her grandfather was a government official and one of her uncles lived for many years in the jungles because he was afraid of the situation. We talked lots about religion. She is buddhist. A great conversation. I wish Olivia was there sharing it with me. Her schooling is quite interesting. She received one of the first scholarships that the original Pepy ever handed out. She went to the University in Bangladesh and lived there for 5 and 1/2 years studying and learning English. Graduated and recently received her Masters. She is now full time employed by Pepy. What a woman of fortitude and endurance. To come from where she came from and do what she has accomplished is amazing.   I get spiritually uplifted by hearing and speaking to people like this. Hope everyone has enjoyed my second day in Cambodia. Love Larry            

Hi Guys The journey starts. Got to the airport at around 8:30 AM and checked into China Southern Airlines. After taking a 16 1/2 non stop flight and living through three meals, cat naps and lots of movies and bathroom stops, I finally arrived in Guangzhou China. The city sits in a valley surrounded by green mountains. The first thing I noticed was the extreme air pollution that looked like a huge fog that was engulfing the city. There were quite a few office buildings and lots of government looking housing. The time difference was twelve hours ahead of NY. I wandered through this large and commercial airport looking for my gate and finally found it. My favorite, cold brew at Starbucks, was around the corner and tanked up for the next leg of my trip. Could not use my cellphone app at this Starbucks and no US money was accepted. Now I know that I am Really in a foreign country. The next leg took me to Siem Reap Cambodia. About a three hour trip. Immediately fell asleep and was woken up once by the stewardess who asked me if I wanted dinner? I could not bear eating more airplane food and declined. It was then back to sleep. Arrived in Siem Reap and was greeted by my friends and some of the scholarship students who all remembered me from my last trip. This is my eighth trip to visit and experience this amazing country and its people.  It was so nice to be greeted by everyone and realized how much I had missed them. I must say that the first thing that greeted me in Cambodia was a wave of “Africa Hot” heat. It was around 7 PM and still that hot. Lets talk a little bit about hot and cold. Almost everyone knows that I will be going to Mongolia from Cambodia. Will be in Western Mongolia and the Gobi for most of my two weeks. Was told by Andy Williams at Muench Workshops, that the weather in Mongolia is very cold and it it will drop down to the 20’s and teens during the evening and not much warmer during the day. He insisted that I bring a winter coat, long johns, snow pants, warm hiking boots, gloves, hats and dress in layers. We will be camping out in Ger Tents for most of the time. No five star hotels here. So how do you pack? I asked Andy to come to my house and pack for me be he declined and said that he has limits. I mostly packed for Mongolia and have very few clothes for Cambodia. I will get laundry done and if necessary, but some items in Cambodia. Could not take two suitcases since I am going on lots of different airlines and do not know their rules. We then hat dinner in the hotel. Great Cambodian dinner with lots of little dishes to choose from. It was so nice talking with Kimsru, Manin and Konnetha. I could have talked all night. One of my favorite activities as most of you know. It is now time to take a nice cool shower and shave and rest. Am excited being in Cambodia and so looking forward spending the next five days talking to everyone and going with them places. I am being picked up at 9AM and and looking forward towards the next five das of activities with the staff and students of Pepy Empowering Youth.   Love Larry  

Hi Everyone Hope everyone loves my new website. I have come a long way. My original travel blog started in 2006 with about ten people. I currently have over 150 participants. Just got back from my favorite Starbucks in Briarcliff. Recently I have been having my second cup of coffee there with yogurt. I sit and watch people come in, always in a rush, and constantly texting. I guess this is the America of today. Remember when none of us had cellphones? I have been to countries where drinking coffee is a pleasant and relaxing time. Coffee is never served in take out cups and plastic. We all need to slow down and enjoy the ride. We all start and finish in the same place. Life is about the journey, family and the legacy you leave. Speaking about the journey. My latest journey starts on Tuesday morning. Am flying on China Southern Airlines to Guangzhou wherever that is. Take a connecting flight to Siem Reap Cambodia. Most of you know that I have traveled to Cambodia in the past. Started going in 2006. This will be my eight trip. I can thank Daniela Papi for the affection that I have developed for the Cambodian people. I tell people I travel there to cleanse my soul and spirit. It has been eighteen months since I last visited, and miss them. Some of me was probably buddhist in a prior life. Will be spending my time with the staff of a local Cambodian charity named Pepy Empowering Youth. Check out their website. Also, will be with the group of scholarship students who are currently with the Pepy program. Some of the activities we will be doing is teaching the staff and students about photography, visiting some of the scholarship students families and taking the scholarship students on an all day field trip. Will be leaving Siem Reap on October 2 and travel to Ulan Bator Mongolia. Spending two weeks in Mongolia taking pictures and re bonding with two of my photography mentors, Andy Williams and Kevin Pepper. I have learned so much from Andy. He is always patient. Most of my time in Mongolia will be traveling in the way I like to travel. No five star hotels nor western bathrooms. Living in Get Camps in Get tents. More on Mongolia later, but I will see and experience things that will last a lifetime. Packing will be difficult. Cambodia will be HOT. Olivia called it “Africa Hot”. Mongolia will be much cooler. A few notes on my website. I want to thank Rebecca Berman for the great work she did and can highly recommend her. We have also posted some prior photo albums on the website. Northern Italy, the Yukon, Summer of 2017 has been added along with my last trip to the Palouse. Talk to everyone from Cambodia   Love Larry