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Hi Everyone Before I start our day, I would like to go back a little to our visit to the Great Wall yesterday morning. As you already know, the section we visited is not touristy and it is quite difficult to get on top of the Great Wall from this location. I mentioned yesterday that it felt spooky. I want to expand a little on that. Imagine walking on the Great Wall almost by yourself in the quiet calm of the early morning. I must admit that I felt the spirits and presence of ancient Chinese soldiers guarding the Great Wall. There have been a few other sites that I have gotten this spiritual feeling from during the course of my travels. Two that come to mind are Chaco Canyon in New Mexico and The Killing Fields in Cambodia. Now onto today. Last night I packed my day bag for our trip to the “Huangshan Mountains or the “Yellow Mountains”. We did we need to pack day bags when we could have just brought our luggage up the mountain to the hotel? The Yellow Mountains are a national park and no vehicles are allowed in the park. How would our heavy luggage get transported up to our hotel? The only way is to come up with a day bag with just enough clothes for your stay. Not heavy and easy for porters to transport to the hotel by hand. The day started at 8 AM when we left the beautiful Crowne Plaza hotel in Huangshan. The breakfast was a huge display of any food you could imagine and more. Our regular luggage, day bags and camera gear were all loaded into the bus. When ever I go on a photo trip, a huge bus is always used. Photographers have lots of gear and we all need at least two seats each and sometimes more. Our first stop was Hongcun. Hongcun is a UNESCO world heritage site. The site is a old village that was built and restored using South Anhui architecture. Huangshan is located in the southern portion of the Anhui Province. On our drive to Hongcun we passed through very rich looking rice farms and other farms growing various fruits and vegetables. People were working the farms by using their own hands. I did not see any large machinery. So rich and lush. The green color popped out as we drove through this very fertile place. We walked through the village. People were selling all sorts of arts, crafts and food. There was a large pond in the middle of the village. A local was straining the pond for vegetation. My camera could not stop clicking. Also the town is built along the banks of a lake named “Nan Lake”. The reflections that you get from the town and its unique architecture is quite unique. There were lots of locals painting and drawing the structures in and around the village. After lunch we started our journey to the Yellow Mountains. Our bus took us into a village where we stopped in a big parking lot. All of our regular luggage was unloaded and put into storage. Our day bags were then put on a separate small truck to be taken up to the end of the road. Porters would transport them from there to our hotel. We then carried our camera gear for about a ten minute walk into a large bus terminal. We then boarded a local bus with other people for the first leg of our journey. The bus had no overhead compartments and the bus did not leave until all the seats were filled. I had to hold my big and heavy backpack filled with camera gear on  my lap with my leather attache case that had my laptop and iPad with all my charges and wires. A Chinese looking woman sat down next to me. She was from Taiwan and spoke passible English. She told me that she comes to China just to go to the Yellow Mountains. Michael, our local tour guide, told me that almost no foreigners visit the Yellow Mountains. The typical Chinese tours do not go here. The logistics and arrangements are hard and the hotels are not very modern. Our bus took us on a thirty minute drive through bamboo forests and over winding roads. The roads constantly drove up hill. We were then let out and walked with all our equipment, except for our day bags, for about fifteen minutes to a sky tram like the trams that you see in Ski resorts. We jumped on the cars as they drove by. Six in each car and then ascended straight up through some serious fog. The tram ride took about fifteen minutes and we all were met by our Sherpas. Thank god. How could I have ever lived without my own sherpa. The sherpa took my backpack and attache bag. We then started to ascend up old stone steps. After about five minutes, the heavens opened up. The rain was coming down in buckets. I got totally drenched. My raincoat was in my backpack and I kept on hoping that the rain would stop quickly since it was raining so hard. I guessed wrong. The rain kept on beating down on us as we hiked up more old looking stone steps. The Chinese describe the Yellow Mountains as “Heaven on Earth”. I wondered why? The mountains are granite. The top is about 5000 feet above sea level and that is where our hotel is located. We finally reached the lobby. Besides being totally drenched, my legs and muscles were aching. My feet felt like the soles had walked over big pins. The sherpa took my gear and day bag up to my room. I would rate the hotel as three stars. Not fancy but OK. The name of the hotel is Bei Hai Hotel. After changing clothes and unpacking my small supply of clothes on the other bed,

Hi Everyone Hello from Huangshan China. I am not sure where this is, but here I am. I believe Huangshan is in the southern part of China. I have not mentioned how many people I am traveling with and where they are from. We are a group of ten photographers plus Andy, Kevin and Michael. Michael is the local photographer and knows the best places and shots when we arrive at those places. Andy and Kevin mingle amongst the group answering questions and help us with whatever we need and want. There are five women and five men. Nine Americans and one Canadian. Kevin is also Canadian. The group is mostly from the West Coast and three of us are from New York, Connecticut and New Jersey. I am glad to say that I am the second oldest of the group. Only Daisy is older than me and not by much. Time and energy move to quickly. We must cherish the moments. My day started at 3 AM. Set my iphone and tried to sleep. Kept on tossing and turning in the guest house at Jinshanling. Finally at about 3 AM got up, dressed, and packed my camera gear. Went down to the lobby to get some coffee and meet everyone. We were going on one hour hike up to the Great Wall, at another location, to shoot the morning lights. This was quite a hike. The Great Wall is all situated on top of mountains and slopes through the mountains from peak to peak. There are towers between the various walkways. The towers are two to three stories high and used to house soldiers on guard. They would live there and always be available all day and night. There are also viewing towers separate from the Great Wall where soldiers would look to see who was invading and how many invaders there were. Michael said they would warn the other soldiers via torch light and the number of consecutive lights would be approximately how many invaders there were. Five lights in a row meant that over 10,000 invaders were approaching. The hike up was very strenuous. We were at first gradually going up hill until we got off the paved walkway. We then followed a path through the shrubs and trees until we reached the top. This part of the hike was almost straight uphill with almost no gradual incline. I was panting, sweating and out of breath as I reached one of the towers. We were the only ones there and the scene was sort of spooky. Of course, I had my sherpa from yesterday carrying all my camera gear. Two cameras, three lenses and a tripod where all packed in my backpack that she carried all the way up. She also helped me climb up by holding my hands constantly and making sure that I did not fall. I could not do this without her. It was then onto the Great Wall to set up and watch for the first signs of the morning light. As the scene got lighter, I was amazed by the pictures in front of me. Kept on clicking and taking pictures as I walked around to get different views and angles. How magnificent the Great Wall is. How many people built it and what did it take? I could only imagine. I walked over stones, through towers and top and down steps that were over one thousand years old. I feel so lucky to have seen this spectacle at this location. I want to thank my beautiful wife Olivia, who I miss very much, for holding down the fort at home and my daughter for holding down the business end of my life. They have both given me the opportunity to experience this truly amazing spectacle. No people with just us and the Great Wall.  I didn’t care that my legs, feet and back were aching and that I had almost no sleep. I have walked on the Great Wall of China and taken pictures of its magnificence. We all walked toward another section and tower to go back to the Guest House and a well deserved breakfast. When we arrived at the Guest House I gave the sherpa a nice tip for a job well done. She thanked me by giving me a beautiful book of this part of the Great Wall and a beautiful tee-shirt. All the locals at Jinshanling were so nice and friendly. They were the sort of people I hoped I would meet in China. My sherpa could not speak English but we both communicated well together. Breakfast was basic and good. The food at the Guest House was all first rate, fresh and excellent. It was then back to my room to nap and take a hot shower. I curled up in my bed, under the covers and fell asleep trying to heal my aching muscles as fast as I can. Woke up at around 10:30 for a hot shower. We were leaving at 12:30 and being served lunch at 11:30. Have you ever taken a shower while sitting on the potty? I did. No shower stall nor tub. Just a hose with a drain in the middle of the bathroom. The water was hot and I just sat and stood under the soothing hot water. Lunch was excellent. Various dishes of beef, chicken, shrimp and dumplings. Its almost the same food all the time with different variations and spices. Of course, soup is always served. I had lots of coffee as I tried to wash my grogginess away. It was then a three hour bus drive back to Beijing Airport to fly to Huangshan. The Chinese go through all your carryons with a fine tooth comb. They make you take out all your cameras, lenses and accessories. Just a long process and complaining serves no purpose. Andy, Kevin and myself found Starbucks and had our fix. Trying to get free wifi in Beijing Airport

Hi Everyone Hope everyone is enjoying my blogs as much as I get from writing them. Where am I now, Would you believe in Jinshanling. More on that later. We packed our bags and departed the hotel in Beijing at 7:45 AM. Andy said we had to go for a short visit to Tiananmen Square. He does not want anyone to say that they were in Beijing and did not visit Tiananmen Square. Tiananmen Square is enormous just like most things in Beijing. We entered from the south end. The south end is where Mao’s mausoleum is. There was a huge line waiting to pass by Mao. Mao is embalmed there in an open casket for all to see. We did not have enough time and the mausoleum is only open from 8 AM until noon. We walked around the Square passing the “Great Hall of the People”. This is where many diplomatic meetings take place and leaders meet. We walked down to the north end where you can see the famous portrait of Mao overlooking the Square. There are two military guards in front of the portrait. There were masses of people there.  Everyone was taking pictures and mingling around. We finally departed and now I can say that I visited Tiananmen Square. We all boarded the bus for the short trip to the “Temple of Heaven”. No trip is short in Beijing since there always is lots of traffic and people darting around and in between the traffic. The “Temple of Heaven” is an imperial sacrificial alter built during the Ming dynasty. This was where emperors would go to pray for good harvests and rain. The highlight is the “Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests”. This is a beautiful round roofed pavilion that was built without a single nail. This is where emperors would pray for a good harvest and make offerings of grain, silk and animals. There were also people playing a game where one person would toss rings to four other people and they would catch the rings over their heads and onto their necks. I want to mention something about the trees in these pavilions. The trees are so beautiful. Many of them have huge branches and bark. They are all tagged. A tree having a red tag is over five hundred years old and a tree tagged with a blue tag is at least three hundred years old. Many of the trees had red tags. It was now time for lunch. We went into a restaurant that served you raw meat, shrimp and lamb together with vegetables. They put a huge pot of soup on a small heating grill and you make your own soup with the meat you choose and vegetables. A very popular way of eating in Beijing. It was now time for us to leave Beijing and travel for three hours to Jinshanling. As we drove through Beijing I could not believe the amount of enormous buildings all over and new construction taking place. Beijing is very clean and full of beautiful flowers all over. Michael told me that there are not any slums since all the poorer people were forced to move out. No food markets. Lots of supermarkets, huge malls and skyscrapers. Why are we going to Jinshanling? Jinshanling is located near a portion of the Great Wall. Most tourists visit the Great Wall in Beijing. There are lots of people there and the steps are tourist friendly and easy to climb. Andy, Kevin and Michael decided to not show us the Great Wall in Beijing. Too many people and not authentic. As we drove, I fell into a deep and relaxing sleep. Woke up as we pulled into a rest stop. After making a quick pit stop, we were off again. After about another hour, Michael pointed out a portion of the Great Wall to us on top of a mountain. It was like seeing an Iceberg for the first time. We then got off the highway and pulled into a parking lot where we were met by three small vehicles and a truck to take us and our luggage to a small Guest House near the Great Wall. The Guest House is nice, clean and basic. in the bathroom is an odd shower. There is a hose with no shower stall nor tub. In the center of the bathroom is a drain and you take a shower in the middle of the bathroom. Have never seen this kind of method of taking a shower. It was then off to our one hour hike to the Great Wall. Some amazing facts about the Great Wall. The Great Wall is 12,380 miles long. That’s right, 12,380 miles long. Four lengths the width of the US and half the width of the Earth measured around the equator. The only invading army to ever break thru the Great Wall was Genghis Kahn and his Mongolian Army. We were each supplied with a Sherpa. The Sherpa would carry our camera gear and help us climb the Great Wall. My Sherpa was a woman. She was fantastic. Carried all my camera gear and helped me navigate very tricky and partially broken steps. We walked uphill and then climbed broken steps to the Great Wall. There was almost no one there. Chinese music was being played on large speakers as we hiked from one section to the next. I can tell you it was a very unique experience walking on top of a structure that was built over thousand years ago. The steps were not rebuilt for tourists and the scenery was so green and lush. My fingers could not stop taking pictures as I hiked and walked over this site. We finally made it to a Tower and spent sometime there waiting for a sunset that never came. It was cloudy and a little drizzly. It was then time to leave and hike back. My sherpa held my hand and helped me up

Hi Everyone So how is your first full day in China? Lets first start with the welcome dinner last night. We all walked through crowds and crowds of people to a beautiful restaurant that specialized in “Peking Duck”. All of us ate family style as dish upon dish was brought out. Chicken, beef, deer, mutton, duck and assorted vegetables. A dish that I have never had was bamboo shoots. Loved it. It is served fried, but with no bread crumbs, with the leaves of the bamboo. Left the restaurant to walk back to the hotel navigating masses of people walking around and to walk through traffic is an experience. You have to gradually nudge your way around the cars until you get to the other side. The population of Beijing is over 22 million and the total population of China is 1.3 billion. To give you an idea, the United States has a population of 350 million. Lots of people and mostly cars, buses, funny looking small vehicles and some motorbikes. No Tuk Tuk’s. The traffic and constant mass of people is enormous. We all woke up early today. Up and at breakfast at 6 AM and leaving the hotel at 7:15 AM. A photo workshop is hard work. You never sleep late. There will be days when we meet well before dawn to catch the sunrise and then go out late to catch the sunset. A photo workshop is hard work and it is not for everyone. We first went to visit the Summer Palace. The Summer Palace was built by the Qing emperors. An empress by the name of Dowager Cixi rebuilt the park in 1873. The Summer Palace or Palaces are around a large lake. The lake is named “Kunming Lake”. There are lots of small and unique looking boats taking people all over the lake. There are beautiful marble and wood bridges that connect various parts off the palaces around the lake. There were lots of people there and very few foreigners. Some of the locals were flying beautiful kites. Normally photographers shy away from a location like this and do not like to be around people and especially masses of people. I liked the fact that there were lots of Chinese people around. It gave the location a more honest look and appeal. We did lots of walking as the temperature started to rise. The sun was out but there was very little humidity and no pollution. Empress Dowager Cixi had a large marble boat built. So impressive. The design, marbles and colored tiles were beautiful. We walked and walked. My back started to hurt as my fingers clicked away. Speaking about walking around, one photographer hired her own Sherpa for today. The Sherpa carries all your photo equipment and anything else and always stays next to you. More on Sherpas tomorrow. Did anyone ever see the movie “The Last Emperor”? He was the last emperor of China and spent lots of time at the Summer Palace. There were pictures of him as a baby and throughout his life. There were beautiful statues of animals throughout the site. There is an area called “The Long Corridor”. It is a 700 meter long corridor lined by individually painted red columns. A roof is on top with beautiful painted pictures of old Chinese life. The emperors were use the corridor to walk outside and be protected from the sun and rain. Another amazing location was “The Pavilion of the Fragrance of Buddha”. It is a large temple that sits on the top of a hill. As you walk through the various palaces, there are windows looking into them. No one is allowed inside. When you look through the windows you see the palaces as they were left. Nothing has been disturbed and changed. Very strange. Near the entrance and exit there was a large pavilion where many Chinese people were singing songs led by a conductor and small band. The music and songs were so relaxing. One old Chinese man with one tooth invited me to sing along with him. We both stood and hugged as we sang looking out at the people. Andy and the others clicked away. I am experiencing a different kind of Chinese person than I have previously experienced. They are warm and very friendly. It was now time for lunch. Lunch was a very unique experience. We went to an imperial style restaurant where all the help wore Qing Dynasty clothing. There were individual pavilions where people were served by these beautiful looking men and women. Their costumes were so colorful. A large pond was in the middle stocked with beautiful Koi. Small waterfalls and fountains were in the pond. There were beautiful looking Chinese lamps hung up all over. I walked around and around taking pictures. The help always stopped and posed for pictures. The food was very delicious. I suspect that by the end of the trip I will be sick of eating Chinese food. It was then back into the bus to navigate our way through people and traffic to the “Forbidden City”. “The Forbidden City” was the imperial palace during the Ming and Qing dynasties for five hundred years. Twenty four emperors have lived here. Again, see “The Last Emperor”. We started at one end and worked our way through. Lots of people. Perfect location even with the lots of people. We walked and walked. This was one of the truly great places I have seen in my travels. The size and scope of the site is enormous. I took so many great pictures as I walked my way through. The bridges separating the sections, the moats, the statues and just the enormous size is incredible. The buildings were so beautiful looking with their tiled roofs. I could go on and on. Looking inside some of the pavilions and seeing the thrones and decorations was incredible. I never expected being taken back this way by “The Forbidden

Hi Everyone Am finally in Beijing. Figured out the way how to tackle Beijing Airport without going crazy and becoming exhausted. Arrive at 2 AM. No ones there and the security and immigration people are all sleeping. Good to know in the future. So lets first go back to Cambodia for one more time. We left our hotel at around 11:30 and drive to the Pepy office with all our luggage and carryons. I had a meeting with Kimline, the prior Director and head accountant for Pepy. In the past, she and I had worked together many times. I have always considered her as one of the truly great accountants I have ever met. She has since left Pepy and started her own accounting and tax business. She wanted me to give her a summarization of the American tax system. She brought along her staff as well. I spent almost three hours talking to them and explaining how we prepare and file tax returns as well as the various entities used in conducting business. My talk sometimes took some detours and side turns as I tried to navigate through a very complicated topic. After the talk, she and her staff were so thankful of my presentation. Kimline gave me a beautiful necklace to give to Olivia as a thank you. About five or six years ago, I gave a two day presentation of the US tax system to a much larger group of accountants in Phnom Penh. It is then onto my last meeting with the scholarship students. I summarized my trip by reading my summarization of the trip from my previous blog. One of them asked me about my childhood and how long I went to school. I had a lengthy talk on my childhood and the struggles I endured along the way. I told them how difficult it was for me to combine work and school. They were thankful that they did not have to do that. I also showed them some pictures about what I will be seeing in China and some of my future trips this year. They all told me that they will miss me and wish that time goes fast until they see me next year. It was now about five o’clock and I had not had lunch yet. The staff, Zayaa and myself all went to the Vitking Restaurant for our last meal together. The Vitking is the very good vegetarian restaurant that I love. The tofu and mushrooms are to kill for. We all sat, talked and laughed as my heart started to ache knowing I will leaving them shortly. The staff gave Zayaa and myself two little books. In each book were photos of us and them together with various comments and private messages. A treasure I will always cherish. Before we went to the airport, we were taken to a large reservoir built around one thousand years ago by the Khmer engineers who had built Angkor Wat. The reservoir is still in use today and functioning in the same way it has always functioned. How amazing is that. There were fishermen and I was told that the bottom is sandy. It was then onto the airport. We all hugged and I could spot some tears as we said our goodbyes. Onto China. The flight time is around five hours and China is one hour ahead of Cambodia. Tried to sleep on the plane, but my thoughts of my amazing trip to Cambodia with Zayaa kept on getting in the way. I was starting to get all worked up over the insanity of Beijing Airport as we touched down. My previous experience was hell. This time it was not like that. I had figured out how to beat them. Arrive at 2 AM. Foreigners are required to take fingerprints. All went smooth and nothing was taken away from me. Our local tour guide, Michael Deng, met us. He is very friendly. He will be our local photographer for the next two weeks. He has arranged unique situations and locations. Taking a group of photographers to China is difficult. Photographers do not like to go where most tourists go since we want to capture images that is void of humans most of the time. Finding a beautiful location of the Great Wall without people has been accomplished. As we drove through the streets of Beijing, I started to notice some things. Very clean and did not see any homeless. Got to our hotel at around 3:30 and arrived in my room at around 4. My room is quite interesting. There are lots of plush animal pandas and pictures of pandas all over. The room is big and clean, but the pandas give it a weird feeling. Finally fell asleep at around 4:30 and was startled by my iphone alarm going off at 8. I was meeting Kevin, Andy and Zayaa for breakfast. Breakfast is on the twelfth floor in a private sort of dining room setting. Had some great coffee and in walked Kevin. I love taking pictures with him and have learned so much from his style. Then Andy and finally Zayaa. We talked and talked. It will just be resting and moping today in this big beautiful hotel. One thing I noticed was the weather outside. No sun just like a heavy fog. Was told this is the pollution. The sun does come out, but there is lots of pollution. Our China trip starts at 5 PM with a welcome dinner and then tomorrow morning the fun begins. I have no idea where I am going and what I will be seeing. I have read the itinerary numerous times and most of the locations are foreign to me and some of the pronunciations are difficult. By the way, WhatsApp and Google really do not work in China. Totally blocked. WeChat is a ridiculous app and probably the Chinese government using it to look at your personal info. I am

Hi Everyone This is the final blog from Cambodia. How did my day go? We decided to sleep in. Sleeping in for me is still getting up early. I rolled myself out of this huge comfortable bed at around 7 AM and dragged myself down for lots of coffee and some fruit. Tanked up on coffee. Then went back to my room and fell back to sleep. This habit of mine where coffee does not effect my sleeping greatly puzzles Olivia. The only other person I know like this is Andy and he even drinks more coffee than I do. Bolted out of bed at 11:30 and realized that Kimsru was picking me up at noon. Ran down to the lobby and waited for Kimsru. Zayaa was off visiting the local museum. Kimsru showed up and off we went. She first needed to eat lunch so she took me to a very nice Khmer restaurant off of Pub Street. Pub Street is the main drag in Siem Reap where there are lots of restaurants and shops. The heat and humidity was starting to build. What does Kimsru have in such heat and humidity but hot soup. She would get along very well with Olivia. Their eating habits are very similar. What did I have? I had a big pancake made into a sandwich with fresh bananas in the middle. Super great. Also had two large iced coffees. I always have room for more coffee. It was onto walking around as long as we could. I remembered a beautiful jewelry store that I had previously shopped in. All hand made jewelry by local silversmiths. I had to buy Olivia a gift. She is upset with me for staying away for so long. When I buy her gifts I feel her presence with me when I am away. She is the jewel of my life and buying jewelry is a great gift since it takes up little space. A few nights ago I had seen a necklace that I wanted to purchase for her as well. The store was closed then. We found the store and the necklace was still there and I struck a deal. Deal done. Hope she likes them. By this time Zayaa had joined us and we decided to go back to the hotel and get out of the oppressive heat. Kimsru picked up her motorbike at the hotel and told us she would WhatsApp us when we should meet at the pool. One last long dip. I then went to my room to try and decompress. At 5 Kimsru met us and two scholarship graduates, Channa and Saving joined us. Konnitha and her beautiful daughter showed up later. We all stayed in the pool until 7 and then went out for dinner. I love the tofu here. It is great. Furthermore, when you go into most restaurants, you are served family style and everyone all eats together. Kimsru told me that when she was in the US, she could not understand why we all eat separate meals and do not share everything. It is now 10:30 PM and I am trying to summarize my trip here. How uplifting the trip was. To travel into rural Cambodia and give lectures to students I had never met. To witness how these students and their families live and be amazed by their fortitude and desire to better their lives through school. To be accompanied by Zayaa, my tour guide from Mongolia. To see her experience things she had never seen. To show her the Cambodia I love and have her understand and fall in love with the people. To pay another visit to Angkor Wat and walk around the beauty and magnificence of this site. To go to Kulen Mountain with thirty five students and the staff. Seeing the local people enjoy basic things that most of us could not understand. To give lots of talks to the Scholarship students and tell them stories. To take them to the Landmine museum and talk to them about the bravery of their grandparents and parents. To stress upon them the importance of saving their families stories and history to pass onto their children. To go to the butterfly sanctuary and walk around such fragile beauty after seeing the horrors of the Landmine Museum. To see how they love to hear my stories and look at my pictures. I could go on and on. Its the people that bring me back to Cambodia. My ninth trip was very special. I feel so comfortable when I am around the people. Their gentleness and kind and soft manners are so refreshing. They have become very special in my life. Hope everyone has enjoyed this segment of our journey. I know I loved it. I would love to hear from you and hope everyone can come to Cambodia one day and meet these amazing people. Now where to next? We leave tomorrow night at 8 PM on Cambodia Angkor Airways for a five hour flight to Beijing. We arrive in Beijing at 2 AM. I am going on a two week tour of China on a photography trip. I will be with seven other photographers and Andy and Kevin will be the leaders. We will also be accompanied by a local pro photographer. Why did I want to go to China? After jumping through hoops in obtaining a Chinese Visa and trying to download and set up WeChat I wondered why? Most of the trips will be in rural China and away from the big tourist attractions. Of course, we will visit Tiananmen Square, the Great Wall and the Terracotta Army. I have always wanted to see the Terracotta Army through my camera. For me, this is reason enough to go to China. I will be writing my daily blog and try to describe what I am seeing. Love Larry

Hi Everyone So my website is not responding again. Too late to address at the front desk. Will do it in the morning. Morning now and the access is fixed. What a day in Cambodia. The day started at 8 AM. Manin picked us up from the hotel to take us to Pepy’s office to meet thirty five students and staff to go to Kulen Mountain via two mini buses. What is Kulen Mountain and why go there? Kulen Mountain is considered to be the most sacred mountain in Cambodia. Both Hindus and  Buddhists come to the mountain. For Cambodians, Kulen Mountain is considered to be the birthplace of the Khmer Empire. It is believed that it is here where King Jayavarma II declared independence from an empire called Java back in 804. Kulen Mountain has become a playground for the Cambodians. There are waterfalls and a river that runs through the mountainside. Cambodians come here to swim and soak themselves under the waterfalls. They also picnic there and there are local shops set up selling clothes, food and other items. Five years ago I paid a visit and had a great time watching the locals enjoy themselves. There are lots of hammocks set up and shelters that you sit under to try and keep you from the sun. The area is also an attraction for natural medicine doctors and attracts people seeking blessings and healing from the holy waters. Some of the vendors were selling weird looking roots, leaves and powders that are used in natural healing. I am tempted to go swimming, but decided not to. Who knows what lives in the muddy waters. Before you arrive at Kulen Mountain you stop at an area that I had previously visited. The area is named “Thousand Lingas” at Kbal Spean. What is a linga? I will try to explain. A linga is a symbol of Hinduism. A linga represents energy and strength. To me, a linga looks like a large phallus symbol. Try googling it to get a better understanding. When I was at this site five years ago, I spoke to a french archeologist who was working there. It is believed that a huge complex exists here at least as large as Angkor Wat. The archeologists have used a new technology called Mylar that scans and pictures disturbances and made made formations from a helicopter or airplane. There is a small river where you can see ancient sculptures carved into the bedrock of the river. Very impressive. Locals come here to look at the bedrock and some monks have set up some prayer sites. It was then onto the entrance to Kulen Mountain. After you enter you walk up a long flight of ancient looking steps. The steps are lined with beggars on either side of the stairs and since today is a national holiday, there were lots of people. Many of the people gladly gave the beggars money. It looked like they were giving blessings to the beggars by giving them money. The people willingly h=gave them money and offerings. On the top of the mountain is a massive reclining buddha. There was a long line to climb the stairway up to the reclining buddha. When we finally got to the reclining buddha, there were lots of people praying and giving offerings. People were also in other pavilions praying with monks and offering prayers and blessings to various buddha sites. A massive scene of humanity in a hot oppressive atmosphere. It was then time for lunch. The students and staff had brought lunch. Lunch was rice and chicken. I wandered over to the river to take pictures of the people swimming and playing in the water. By this time, I was totally exhausted and my clothes were soaking with sweat. When I got back to the pavilion that everyone was eating under, I tasted the chicken. Very tasty. A woman that brought over two small catfishes. These were larger than the ones I had yesterday, but certainly not worthy to be called catfishes. After lunch Kimsru then took me for a walk around the site. We hiked down a long flight of wet steps to the bottom of a large waterfall. As I was walking down, I kept on thinking now I have to walk up. So many people swimming around and under these long large waterfalls. My camera could not stop clicking. It was then time to walk up these long wet steps to the top in hot humid weather. I finally made it as my body needed to collapse. My legs felt like rubber. Kimsru stopped and we both bought two glasses of sugar cane juice. Sugar cane storks are fed into a grinding machine and the machine stomps the juice out of the sugar cane. The juice is then put into a cup with ice. Great for your teeth. An old five hour energy drink and I needed one. It was then time to leave and head our way back. Before we got back to Siem Reap, I wanted both buses to make two stops. The first stop is the landmine museum. The landmine museum was founded by a Cambodian man named “Anka Ra”. During the Khmer Rouge years, his parents were killed and the Khmer Rouge trained him, as a child soldier, to plant landmines. In 1987, he escaped and joined the Vietnamese Army to fight the Khmer Rouge. The Khmer Rouge was eventually defeated and the Vietnamese Army left Cambodia in 1990. Thereafter, Anka Ra decided to devote the rest of his life to finding landmines and blowing them up before they can do human damage. Every time I visit Cambodia, I make a trip here. There is a museum where different kinds of landmines are displayed and the process of finding and blowing the landmines up is told. In the back of the museum is housing for some of the victims. I was amazed to find out that none of

Hi Everyone Happy Mothers Day to all those great Moms out there. Hope everyone enjoys their magnificent day. Set my iPhone alarm for 6:15 and could barely get out of bed. I tried to force my way out, but my mind kept on pushing me back. Moping here I come. Finally dragged myself out and went down to meet Zayaa for breakfast. The days and nights are starting to mold together. Kimsru picked us up at 8 AM. Where were we going? How could Zayaa visit Siem Reap and not visit Angkor Wat. I last visited in 2005 when I took a group of about thirty five students from the original Pepy school. Those students had never been there. A place steeped in their culture and tradition and they had never been there. Then I spent the whole day wandering around this magnificent site. We took the same Tuk Tuk driver as yesterday and off we went. The first difference was where you purchase tickets. Cambodians do not need tickets and of course, get in for free. In 2005, you had to go to the front gate and line up to get your admission ticket. Now you go to a new facility where there are numerous ticket windows. The cost is $37 for a full day ticket. You get a ticket with your picture on it. The process was very fast. I recall that in 2005, the ticket price was almost the same. Off we went. We first visited some temples that were near the main complex. They were so beautiful. These temples are so much grown into the jungle that large trees, probably at least 1000 years old, have grown huge roots above the ground and all over the structures. My camera clicked away as the heat and humidity hit me full force. By ten o’clock the heat and humidity became oppressive. Take Florida in July and this is worse. I saw my arms get moist, but was determined to keep up with Kimsru. She told us that sometimes when she has to study, she comes to Angkor Wat to concentrate. We rested by her favorite tree that had been cut back. She told us that she cried after that happened. I had to remind myself to keep on drinking water. I felt that much more water was going out than was coming in. We visited some more temples and it was finally time for lunch. The Tuk Tuk driver took us to a large sit down restaurant near the main complex. The restaurant had a large tent over it to protect everyone from the sun. There were many fans trying to keep everyone cool. Before you are seated, there are large grills barbecueing chicken, fish and a small bird on large sticks. You pick out what you want and sit down to wait. A woman brings you over a big pot of white rice and then the items you had picked out cut up into smaller pieces. We had chicken and fish. The chicken was very tasty. The fish was cat fish. These were the smallest cat fish I had ever seen, They looked more like large eels. The had a hard head. I tried some. Some cats wandered over to me and I gladly started to feed them. They had a banquet. After lunch, it was onto the main complex. When I was previously here, you walked over a very old bridge that was built over a large moat. That bridge is part of the original structure. It is currently being rebuilt and a temporary bridge was installed to walk over. The bridge felt like walking on a trampoline. Soft and the heat really did a number on me. We finally got to the main complex and walked all around. This is some site. There are murals of carved stone telling stores of battle and the daily life of the people who lived there. There were also some beautiful buddhas set up inside the structures. The Khmer Rouge had broken off many of the heads of the buddhas. In this way, they believed that the buddha had died. We wandered through the complex as my body started to wilt. It was now time to leave as we walked over the trampoline bridge with the heat and humidity engulfing us. Konnitha, her five year old daughter and sister were meeting us at the hotel pool. The hotel pool is very nice and large. The water is not that refreshing due to the oppressive heat and humidity. We were dropped off at the hotel and I went up to my room to soak in a shower and get my bathing suit on. I then got down to the pool at around 3 PM and immediately dove in to just soak and relax. Konnitha, her sister and five year old daughter showed up. Her daughters name is Hannah. She is so beautiful and a whirlwind. Constantly moving and running around. She took an immediate liking to Zayaa and kept on calling her name constantly for her attention. Zayaa willingly gave her as much attention as she could. Kimsru then showed up and we all enjoyed around three hours in and around the pool. It was now around 6:30 and time for dinner. What do the Cambodians normally eat in such hot and humid weather? Hot soup. What else. The restaurant brought over a small gas grill and Konnitha and Kimsru picked out lots off ingredients and then proceeded to cook and prepare our soup. There were vegetables, tofu, fish ad some other ingredients in the soup. Was very tasty. There is a local canned drink here called “Freshy”. “Freshy” is a natural soybean drink. I am quickly developing a taste for it. Tomorrow is a national holiday. It is the Kings birthday. The King has no power, but the people love him. About thirty five of us are going to Kulen Mountain for the day. Kulen Mountain is a

Hi Everyone How is everyone on the other side of the World? when I travel I never watch TV and only read at night. So far, I have fallen behind on my reading. After I write my blog, I crawl into bed and just fade off. Speaking about beds. Probably 5 to 6 people can sleep in my bed. The bed is almost wall to wall. I get lost in it. Onto our day. Met Zayaa for breakfast at 7 AM after being woken up by my iPhone at 6:30. I can thank Andy for getting me into the habit of setting my iPhone alarm when I travel. Kimsru, the Dynamo, was picking us up at 8 AM. I need to bottle whatever she is made off. A real whirlwind. I love to just hear her talk. She is so unique. Kimsru arrived on time with a very nice Tuk Tuk driver and off we went. It is so much better using a Tuk Tuk around Siem Reap. You get so much more of the feel of the people and how they live. We first stopped at a local food market to stock up on water and fruits for our journey. Zayaa’s eyes nearly fell out when she saw the scene. I have always told everyone that you have not lived until you go to a food market in Cambodia. Zayaa wanted to spend all day just walking around tasting the dried fish, fruits and vegetables. We bought small bananas, Jack fruit and fruit bread wrapped in banana leaf. We drove out into the countryside to a lotus farm. A lotus flower is a big beautiful white flower that grows from a pod in water. The lotus and morning glory are both eaten here and used in salads. You can also break the lotus flower pod open and eat the inside. We walked through the Lotus farm on walkways that were just above the water. Sometimes the lotus shoots were growing through the planks of the walkways. There were also small areas with thatched roofs where you could sit and have lunch. Such a beautiful and photogenic scene. I hope I do it justice. It was then onto our main destination. We drove to a eco friendly local park. There were thatched roof open air pavilions on a large lagoon. When you enter, you are given a bamboo fishing pole and some fish food. You then sit in a pavilion and try to catch your lunch. If you do, you can have the fish cooked and served to you. Kimsru and Zayaa tried their luck. No reward. It was so enjoyable watching them fish and hearing them talking. They have both become friends and greatly enjoy each others company. Two beautiful women from different cultures, but in many ways, very similar. We ate some Jack fruit and fruit bread and then decided to switch locations and see if we could be successful. We walked further into the Park and set up on another part of the lagoon. A local couple walked by and we struck up a conversation. They were just married and lived in Phnom Penh. Zayaa and Kimsru then set up shop as we all saw fish bubbles coming to the surface. Maybe this is it. Zayaa got a bite, but was unsuccessful. Both women struck out as we finally packed up at about 11:30 for a drive to find lunch. We found a great local restaurant on the side of the road overlooking a small lagoon. Kimsru ordered and we asked the Tuk Tuk driver to join us. The four of us had a banquet. We had barbecued chicken that was about half the size of chickens I have seen in America. This one was very tasty and I could have eaten it all myself. We also had some vegetable soup with beef and of course, the great tasting Cambodian rice. Kimsru had to be back in Siem Reap to give local students at the University of Southeast Asia some pointers on studying abroad and how to go through the process. I asked her if I could join her and we were dropped off first at the University and went into a part of a building named the “American Corner”. There are some rooms that look like a study area and a library of books and magazines all in English. Kimsru sat on the panel and then the three panelists broke off into smaller groups of students to give those students advice and answer their questions. Unfortunately for me, Khmer, the Cambodian language, was spoken. I found a comfortable couch and took a short nap. Kimsru then dropped me off at my hotel for a shower and a short rest. You get very tired in this weather. The humidity and heat wears you down as the day goes on. Kimsru and Konnitha packed us up at 5:15 with, of course, the same Tuk Tuk driver we used earlier. We drove to the Angkor Wat area to walk around and see some of the sites. There were lots of people picnicking and resting in portable hammocks. We immediately saw a large wild monkey. Zayaa’s first. We walked along the moat of the main entrance way and took some beautiful pictures. It was then onto some other temples. We stopped at a beautiful bridge crossing lined by old buddha statutes. So magnificent. We walked over the bridge and through a large facade onto the other side. On the other side were a large group of monkeys being fed by some locals. Zayaa was so struck by the scene as she watched the monkeys. It was then onto another temple. The beauty of these temples cannot be described. As we drove away, we were lucky to pass some elephants. Zayaa wanted to see elephants. Her first time. It was then onto dinner. We had dinner at a local vegetarian restaurant. So good. The four of us had a banquet

Hi Everyone So its Friday night at 9:20 PM in rainy Siem Reap. When I woke up in the morning I expected to see major flooding in the streets and all over. Low and behold, it looked like a torrential downpour had never happened. The streets were dry and it looked as if a torrential downpour for over four straight never happened. Where did all the water go? I don’t know. Beats me. First I need to tell everyone a “Larry” story. Yesterday I had left my iPad with the front desk so that the hotel computer guy could figure out why I could not log onto my website. When returned, at about 5:30 PM, the manager of the hotel greeted us and told me that he had taken personal charge of fixing my computer problem. He asked me what I was doing in Cambodia. I told him that I was involved with a local NGO and then proceeded to tell him the whole history of my nine trips and what I do in Cambodia and why I keep coming back. He told me to wait and he then went to the front desk. He told me that he would like to switch my room to a suite to offer his hospitality and gratitude for the work I do in his country. I told him that was not necessary, but he insisted. I told him that Zayaa was with me and he told me that tomorrow two suites would be available and that we should pack before we leave in the morning and he would put our luggage in the suites. I could tell you that the suite is huge. You could probably fit at least 6 people in here with room to spare. He told me that he would like to reach out to Pepy and see if Pepy could help him with his own scholarship program that he had just started. My gift of gab landed me into a beautiful suite and hopefully a good contact for Pepy. Onto today. We stayed at the Learning center all day. We met with the first year scholarship students for almost the whole day. We had previously introduced ourselves briefly. Again I put a chair in the middle of the room and proceeded to tell them who I was, why I am here and gave them a brief description of my large family. Most of them had met my wife, Olivia, when she visited Cambodia in February. Their English was pretty good, but Sarrak acted as my favorite translator. We eventually got around to Mongolia and I introduced Zayaa. Now it was time to show them pictures. We slowly went through “Eagle Hunters” and then onto “The Gobi”. They were very interested in how the people of Mongolia live. I showed them pictures of the Yert’s I lived in and how they are constructed and what they inside looks like. Zayaa then took center stage. She told them that she was twenty four and has almost received her Masters. She speaks six languages and she told them what it was like growing up in Mongolia and staying in school. Zayaa has really adapted to Cambodia and she sees and feels the beauty in the people just like I have. I am so glad that she has joined me for this trip. It was then onto Antartica. I showed them a map of the world and where Antartica is and how to get there. I told them about the dreaded “Drake Passage” and brought up a youtube video. I watched as they saw boats rock up and down and get twisted sideways. I described to them what it felt like being on a boat going through “The Drake” and told them that I would never do this again. I explained to them how many boats had perished going around Cape Horn and through “The Drake”. I also told them that the Panama Canal was built so that boats did not have to go around Cape Horn and through “The Drake”. I then brought up a youtube video on the Panama Canal. They saw boats being lifted through the locks of the canal. It was then onto pictures and they were amazed by Antartica. They could not believe that it never got dark and that it was summer in December. I drew a round circle on the board and then cut it in half with the equator. I described to them the opposites of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres and that the reason why Cambodia is always warm is that it is near the equator. They loved the penguins, seals and whales. I told them that I told a seal I was sorry that I woke him up from a deep sleep in the sun. It was now lunch and I told them I had two more stories for them and a movie after lunch. Sarrak, Konnitha, Zayaa, Kimsru and myself all walked to a nice Khmer restaurant for lunch. I had a delicious Mango salad and some fresh spring rolls (Not fried). It was back to the Learning Center and  an afternoon of more interaction. I first showed them what an oovoo looks like in Mongolia. An oovoo is a big pile of rocks with prayer flags that the Mongolian people walk around and pray. They are found everywhere in Mongolia. It was then time to tell them one final adventure before the movie. Last year, all the scholarship students loved my story of when I went dog sledding. They loved to hear how you try to convince the lead dog that you are the boss. I told them the story of how I went dog sledding and endured the hash weather. They loved seeing the pictures of the Northern Lights and were amazed by the “Moon Dog”. It was now onto the movie. The movie is named “The Eagle Huntress”. It is about a young girl who is trained by