There is a place in the little country of Cambodia I’m sure you’ve heard of…it brings images of jungle, wild vines, ancient crumbling ruins, and maybe even Lara Croft. (No judgement!)

The ruins of Angkor Wat near Siem Reap, Cambodia, are indeed all of those things (except maybe Lara Croft, although it was filmed there I suppose…but I certainly didn’t see her ) and more. We visited Angkor Wat in November, right on Thanksgiving, and it was certainly a jungle, with ruins buried in viney trees, and some so immersed in the land trees had started to grow OUT of the temple.

One thing I didn’t know about the ruins prior to our visit is that Angkor Wat is just one of the old relics of the Khmer Empire, although the beehive spires are arguably the most famous, and that there are many others to see in the greater Angkor ruins. Angkor Wat itself was built in the 12th century and has been used both as a Hindu and Buddhist temple. It remains the largest religious monument in the world!

It’s also stunningly beautiful and really unique, especially at sunrise. Although we spent several days seeing all of the Angkor ruins, including Angkor Thom, waking up in the dark and meeting our tuk-tuk driver for the sunrise over Angkor Wat was my favorite part of the trip. The days were hot, and sweaty, and there are so many begging children and tourists it was sometimes difficult for me to enjoy the ruins, although I was exposed to an entirely different part of modern Cambodia.

However, watching the sunrise, in the relative cool and relative quiet, transported me back to what the temple may have been like, so many years ago, when it was mostly used for worship rather than tourism. Wandering the temple after the sunrise allowed me to find the small offerings to the Buddha, reminding me that it is still considered a sacred spot, and the immerse myself in the ancient hallways made of stone. Those stones have a lot of stories to tell besides pictures and selfies and postcards to send home. The stories of Angkor Wat are beyond mine, and mine are now just one of many. If you get a chance to visit, make sure to listen carefully for these stories, or you might miss them.

{waiting for the sun to rise / sunrise 1 / sunrise 2 / sunrise 3 / now I’m getting artsy with sunrise 4 / me and my cousin watching the sun rise / the view from inside the temple / soaking up the quiet / the massive ruins, still largely intact / an offering point for Buddha / Angkor Wat in the middle of the morning}

I’m linking up with Travel Tuesday, one of my favorite blogger link-ups on the web. Check out the hosts, Bonnie, Tina, and Melanie, or click on the link below!

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During our (by “our” I mean me & my cousin Courtney) tour of Southeast Asia, we had two Thanksgivings: a lonely one with the Angkor ruins in Cambodia, and a Friendsgiving on the roof of our hostel in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

These two celebrations encapsulate traveling for me: overcoming homesickness with the reminder of the beauty surrounding us, and celebrating something in common with new friends. In addition, these two celebrations were good reminders for me to be thankful: thankful for the ability to follow my dreams and travel, and thankful that I have loved ones back where I came from, too.

Our Friendsgiving in Chiang Mai started on the first day of the Loi Krathong festival (more on this later). We spread a blanket on the roof of our hostel, the Green Tulip–the best hostel in Thailand, I’m sure of this fact–and filled it with quite an array of dishes. Superb salad, chips and salsa, Subway sandwiches, falafel, burritos and Coca-Cola. All of the American things we’d yet to find in Thailand. Despite the fact that our attempts to make Thanksgiving ambience caused a small fire (our blanket was not the best tablecloth for tiny tea lights) it was the perfect Thanksgiving abroad, especially as the roof was the perfect starting off point to enjoy the lanterns in the sky for the festival.

The real date of Thanksgiving was full of Skyping family, eating ice cream, nursing our travel illnesses and feeling homesick. It was the first time it had been just the two of us without friends to guide us, and it was lonely. It was hard to Skype with our families and see my parents and especially our little dog, searching around at the sound of my voice, confused that I didn’t seem to be there in person. The next morning, though, we watched the sunrise over Angkor Wat, and I remembered why I was on this journey.

Traveling isn’t always the easiest path. You don’t always get to be with all of your loved ones on the holidays, and you’ll miss them.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t beautiful things to see and new loved ones to meet.

{Photos: the view from our roof / Thanksgiving spread before the fire / our co-celebrators / Angkor Wat ruins at sunrise}

p.s. excuse my hair. While I would blame the humidity, the heat, traveling, lack of a decent shower, and all of that is true, my hair kind of always looks unruly.

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