Siem Reap, Cambodia

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA

We decided to do a quick four days in Cambodia to see what temples we could visit, along with a bit of local crafts and rocks if we could find any....we ended up finding Cambodian Teak-redwood beads ! Plus an extra find of this incredible raw jade from Burma/northern Cambodia, which were hand carved pieces from this little old man at an out of the way shop. Luv those!

 Instant hospitality in one of the kindest places we have visited....

 

Our Hotel

 

Daily walking in the streets in Siem Reap      

     Dancing over dinner

 Angkor Thom

 

 Carved Dino's in ancient Sandstone rocks of Bayon

 Bayon Temple is one of my favorites, where they filmed Tomb Raider! All the original trees that were growing throughout the temple. Most other temples had had them removed. Cool

 Lions at Angkor Wat

 Angkor Wat

 

Shopping time for me....local markets in Central Market

 

 Cambodian Prayer Beads with local Teak wood. I got a number of them...and plan to build some great pieces from them.

 This was the rarest find in Cambodia. I found a local merchant who carved and made each piece individually. This is northern Cambodian mined jade. You can see the imperfections with the altered white bits.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

MALAYSIA; KUALA LUMPUR

This year we ventured out to Malaysia from Thailand for our secondary trip. We went to the city of opportunities. Where there was incredible new culture and lots of international markets. I had to do some sight seeing first with the family, before getting down to business.

 Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

 View from to KL tower (Just like the Calgary tower)

 

Night Markets-KL

 

Then we indulged and went up to the top of the Petronas Towers...was views....then it was time to hit China Town and the local Malaysian markets for some stones....

 

 Prenite Large Chunks

Burmese Jade was very commonly sold in the streets in Malaysia

Black Rutile

 Coke Quartz

 Feather Mother of Pearl/Shells

 Triangle Mother of Pearl/Shells

 Garnets (Deep Red)

Globular Howalite

Then it was off to Langkowi Island, Malaysia...for some R&R.