Thailand, Cambodia and Laos — Seeing SE Asia through the camera’s eye

This article appears on page 6 of the December 2010 issue.
A young Buddhist monk greets us at the main temple in Angkor Wat near Siem Reap, Cambodia.

by Judi Purcell, Pensacola Beach, FL

I had dreamed of a trip to Thailand for 45 years, so when I saw that Karl Grobl of Jim Cline Tours (San Diego, CA; 877/350-1314, www.jimclinephoto workshops.com) was leading a photography trip there, I immediately signed up. My husband and I had gone on a photo trip to Peru with Karl three years before and had a wonderful and enlightening experience, so I knew this trip would be good.

Karl and Jim are professional photographers who lead several trips a year in different areas of the world. Most of Karl’s trips are in Southeast Asia and India, while Jim specializes in Mexico and Central America.

The tour

We arrived in Bangkok two days early in order to get acclimated to the time difference. Jim Cline arranged for us to stay in the same hotel where our 16-day tour would begin. Through e-mail, Karl suggested what other sights in Bangkok we might want to see (if we were not too tired) and how to make arrangements to visit them.

An old woman smiles at us in the floating market town of Damnoen Saduak, Thailand.

Our January 2010 trip began in Bangkok, where we toured wondrous temples; had day trips to the floating markets, the old capital and several outlying sights; saw a kickboxing match, and wandered through the night markets.

After a short flight to Chiang Rai, we enjoyed visiting the long-necked Karen tribe, then crossed over into Burma for a day and enjoyed the Golden Triangle vistas.

Next we took a two-day longboat trip down the Mekong River in Laos, ending in Luang Prabang, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. After three days in Luang Prabang, where we photographed the monks parading every morning and farmers planting rice in the countryside — plus took excursions to visit a waterfall and explore the town, itself — we thought it couldn’t get any better. But then we flew to Siem Reap, where we spent five glorious days, including photographing many areas of the Angkor Wat complex, enjoying a day in a fishing village and taking a boat trip on Tonlé Sap lake.

To finish the tour, we drove to Phnom Penh and toured the Pol Pot prison complex and the famous Killing Fields. We loved riding in the tuk-tuks all over the city.

Karl was with our group the entire time. He even helped us, individually, with our computer photo programs on his free day.

The benefits

The beauty of a photo tour is that the leader gets the group to each location during the optimum time of day to get good photographs.

The roots of a 50-foot banyan tree have grown around this ancient statue of Buddha in Ayutthaya, the old capital of Thailand.

Our small group of six plus Karl could move easily and freely through each of the destinations. For our boat trip down the Mekong, we and the local guide were the only passengers on board.

With this small group, we could easily stop and take photos whenever an interesting opportunity cropped up. For instance, in a small town in Thailand’s Golden Triangle area, we happened upon a colorful parade of local school groups and bands. I treasure my photos of the children dressed in colorful costumes parading proudly through the town.

Although our breakfasts were in our hotels, dinner was always at a colorful local restaurant where we could order anything we wanted off of the menu (including appetizers and desserts). Karl would often give us several choices of restaurants and let the group choose where to eat. This was all included in the tour price. The only additional costs were for alcoholic beverages and personal expenses, such as laundry.

All of the hotels were small and centrally located, had local color and were very comfortable, with air-conditioning and en suite bathrooms.

The trip cost of $5,105 each included hotels; intercountry transportation and transfers; most meals; a local tour guide in each city and rural area; all entrance fees, and, of course, Karl’s expert advice on all things about photography. The flights between our home and Bangkok were not included.

Valuable instruction

Karl’s own words might give you a sense of the terrific photography instruction that we received: “I believe that each and every photographer has a vision. As your tour leader and your photography teacher, I consider it not only a privilege but a responsibility to help you realize, express, improve and more clearly define your personal photographic vision.

A young girl smiles back at one of the giant carved stone heads at Bayon in Angkor Thom, Cambodia.

So whether it’s help with your camera settings, lighting, composition or how to approach a subject and quickly gain enough rapport to create that intimate image, we’ll get it done!”

Although my husband and the other tour participants had digital SLR cameras with several lenses and I had only a point-and-shoot-type camera, we all received the same instruction, and I was respected as a photographer just as much as the others.

As we traveled from one place to another, Karl continually gave photography instruction, both individually and collectively. We each came away from the trip with thousands of wonderful photos, an enhanced knowledge about our own cameras and computer photo programs and wonderful experiences with the people of Southeast Asia.

Karl taught us how to interact with the local people in order to take terrific photographs of them. We had many personal encounters, including visiting a school, eating in a local fisherman’s home, talking to the various Buddhist temple monks, getting a blessing from an elder monk and spending time in the small villages on the Mekong River.

Karl spends several months of each year in these countries photographing for humanitarian NGO organizations, so he has met and befriended many of the local people. His tour participants benefit from this interaction.