Travel - SE Asia, Vietnam & Cambodia

My journey through Southeast Asia was another awakening, but of a very different kind — not the raw, primal aliveness of Kenya, but a deep dive into authenticity: a window into lives and traditions largely untouched by tourism. It was a front-row seat to the intimacy of culture — texture, taste, and encounter. I wasn’t just photographing places; I was being invited into lives.

Most of my time was spent in Vietnam: wandering the ancient streets of Hanoi’s Old Quarter, taking cooking classes in Hoi An, and traveling north to remote hill-tribe villages and the many markets scattered through that region. The Can Cau Market, perched on a steep mountainside, felt like stepping back 150 years in time. The muddy mountain roads, the banter of locals, the rich scents of food stalls — every detail was alive and unfiltered.

From there, I crossed into Cambodia to explore the temples of Angkor Wat, where dawn light revealed the grandeur and mystery of a civilization carved in stone. At sunrise in Bayon Temple, I stood alone as the air grew thick with heat and silence, and for a moment, I forgot to lift my camera. What mattered more was the stillness — the soul of that place.

This collection reflects those moments where humanity, ritual, and beauty coexist in quiet conversation. The journey opened me to a new way of seeing — one rooted in connection, curiosity, and the simple grace of being welcomed into another world. Each photograph is a reminder that every journey is an invitation to presence: to witness the sacred in the ordinary and to be changed by it.