We started our day bright and early with a trip to Koh Ker, a fascinating archaeological site that most tourists skip in favor of Angkor Wat. However, our group of dedicated scholars, guided once again by the incredible Professor Ea Darith, set out to explore this lesser-known yet historically significant area. Our journey began at Read More…

After checking out of our Siem Reap hotel in the morning, we drove to the edge of town to visit Angkor National Museum’s collection of various relics from the pre-Angkor (Funan) and Angkor period. We each had an audio guide and map to navigate ourselves through the eight galleries. My favorite was the first gallery Read More…

We started the day bright and early, waking up at 5:30 am to catch the sunrise at the west gate of Angkor Wat. Watching the first light hit the magnificent temple was nothing short of magical, and no camera could ever capture its true beauty. There were several others camped out on the grass, but Read More…

Today was a remarkable journey through Cambodia’s rich historical and cultural heritage, combining awe-inspiring architecture, ancient wisdom, and community resilience. Our day began with a visit to Neak Pean, an island temple built by King Jayavarman VII. This unique temple is surrounded by a central pool and four smaller basins, each connected by sculpted conduits Read More…

On day four, we returned to Angkor. We began the morning near the south gate of Angkor Thom at the bottom of Phnom Bakheng. Built-in the 9th century under King Yasovarman I, this temple is positioned on top of a 65-meter-tall hill and was originally accessed via a laterite staircase on its eastern side. The Read More…

We began our third day, groggily, by shuffling downstairs at around 7 AM. The one good thing about this kind of jet lag is that you can be sure that you’ll never miss breakfast. Despite our tiredness, excitement was in the air — today was our first visit to Angkor, a place we spoke about Read More…

Greetings from Siem Reap! My name is Maya Murry, and I’m a 4th year computer science student in the College of Engineering. I arrived in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, yesterday, and today we officially started our program’s first day. We began by visiting the breathtaking campus of the Center for Khmer Studies, where Read More…

When I started the program in Cambodia, I didn’t know what to expect. But what I didn’t expect was the formation of relationships with my fellow peers as we explore the unknown together, as cheesy as that sounds. As we packed onto a bus today at 7:30, it struck me how familiar the people I’m Read More…

Greetings from Siem Reap, Cambodia! My name is Laurel Whidden, and I am a student studying Global Health and Fine Art in HUMEC and AAP. I am so grateful to be on this trip with such a wonderful group of girls and amazing professors. I would like to thank Professor Fincher and especially Professor Vida Read More…

Since we did not have a designated student blogger writing for January 14, I’d like to add a brief report on this day, to round out this blog: it will now cover all the days of our class, Jan. 3-19, 2023. In the morning we left our hotel in downtown Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital city, Read More…