Reflections on My Journey to Cambodia

It was my first time joining a group trip, yet what I experienced with Il Nodo Onlus was far from the typical “organized tour.” From the very beginning, I felt like a privileged traveler — given the rare opportunity to discover Cambodia not as a tourist, but from within, guided by people who have been working here for years with awareness, dedication, and heart.

Putting into words what I felt is not easy. It was a continuous flow of faces, colors, and expressions that tell the story of a culture distant from ours, yet profoundly alive. This “guided seeing” stirred countless questions and reflections about our Western lifestyle — about how often we build sterile barriers, living in an increasingly artificial world, detached from human reality, stripped of smells and substance, as if we had removed the very essence of matter and life.

I carry with me unforgettable images — and the deep desire to return soon.
Thank you, Luciana, Martina, and everyone at Il Nodo.

by Giacomo Giannini, photographer