Banteay Srei

While we were in Siem Reap, ABOUTAsia recommended two temples that made up a half day trip, Banteay Srei and Beng Mealea. These photos are from our first stop in Banteay Srei.

Angkor without the crowds

Yes, I am in Fez, Morocco, this post and the next few are from Anita’s and my trip to Siem Reap in Cambodia.

It is hard to make good photos with if there are hordes of tourists in the way, how do you avoid them at a popular site like Angkor?

Anita contacted ABOUTAsia, a tour agency in Siem Reap who set up a two day itinerary and guide for us. The requirements were to be at the right place at the right time but not to be with the hordes of tourists. They did a great job. The staff at ABOUTAsia all have a scientific background and have studied visit patterns to Angkor and know where and when the hordes will be and can send you to areas that are relatively tourist free.

We were only 100 meters away and were the only people there. It was not the guide’s fault that the sky did not cooperate.

Our guide was extremely knowledgeable and unlike many, his presentation was smooth and did not sound as if he was reciting. He interjected pertinent facts at just the right time.

Because both Anita and I had been to Angkor before, we wanted to see some of the more remote temples. ABOUTAsia recommended two temples that made up a half-day to trip, Banteay Srei and Beng Mealea.

Here are photos from the Angkor complex.

Rainy season sort of in Cambodia

This year the dry season ended a month or more early and the rainy season has sort of started. We have been having short blasts of rain every few days. When the rainy season decides to really settle in, this will be a daily occurrence.

If you have ever lived in a tropical area, you know what real rain can be. In about 15 minutes the street has filled with water. Part of that is due to a large volume of rain and the other is people plug the drains to prevent the smell from coming out during the dry season.

My kitchen is on the west side of the building, and my small window has a tendency to let in rain when there is a wind from the west. Next to the window, decorative ventilation holes in the wall let cool air in and hot air out. But they also let in water when there is a west wind. I had the opportunity to mop the kitchen floor this afternoon because with the rain there was a west wind.

Update

No, I did not have another moto accident I have just been too busy to blog.

Anita of Anita's Feast was here for six weeks and has headed back to Switzerland. While she was here we traveled for two weeks through Vietnam from Saigon to Hanoi. She cooked in Saigon, Hoi An (half way up the coast) and Hanoi and I photographed.

While in Hoi An, on the Vietnamese coast we took a early morning photo tour of a small fishing village with Hoi An Photo Tours Etienne Bossot

 While in Hanoi, we took a boat trip to Halong Bay a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

When we returned to Phnom Penh, I was back at work and she had some time to look around Phnom Penh. Last week the NGO I am working for had a retreat in Siem Reap and Anita accompanied me to Siem Reap. We stayed in Siem Reap a few days after the retreat to; you guessed it, cook and photograph.  Beng Mealea was the last temple we visited

 
Back in Phnom Penh I am back to work sort of speak. My contract with DDD ends at the end of the month. I did not take all of my vacation so I am on vacation until the end of the month. During this time, I will be updating my web site, looking for photographic work and sending out resume's looking for something new to do.

A unique pagoda

Some weeks ago I was reading about an area where Tonley Sap (the river) and the Mekong come together. It described a pagoda in the shape of a boat. About three weeks ago I walked around the area but did not see that pagoda. On the same trip I passed a kilometer long stretch of houses build on stilts on the edge Tonley Sap, it looked like several of these houses were being taken down.

Yesterday I took my moto out to look around and went to the same area. The kilometer stretch of houses along Tonley Sap has been cleared of houses. This is only on the river side of the dirt road.

There was an article in the paper some time ago about the lack clear ownership on land because of the lack of records during the Khmer Rouge time and the corruption forcing people from their land. I don't know if this was the case here.

I followed Tonley Sap a few kilometers beyond where I had gone the first time and I found the pagoda in the shape of a boat.

The pagoda area is raised and there steps up into the compound. I did not want to park my moto outside, so I decided to try to drive up the board going up the steps. The first was not very good. I backed off and luckily two young men helped me get it up the second time.

The pagoda is truly in the shape of a boat with a tree in the boat. Inside I found a monks robe and a piece of traditional cloth laying on the edge of the river that surrounded the pagoda. I did not see any monks but I did hear chanting, there were several people cleaning up.

Shoe repair down the road

On Saturday, I took an hour plus walk around a slightly different part of town. I passed several interesting sights. When I got home and took off my repaired sandals, I noticed is had a sore spot on the ball of my right foot. After some investigation I found that the patch over the thong hold had a raised edge and my foot had been rubbing on it. the blister is not large but is a bit painful because I step on it often.

This afternoon I took my sandals back to the repair man and pointed the problem out. He said no problem and went to sanding the patch down. When I came back after shopping he cut the patch down and the felt OK.

Again, I will tell you how they are after I have put a kilometer or two on them.

A NEW RECORD 7

I have seen four young men on one moto, three on the seat and one sitting in front of the driver.

I have seen a moto loaded with the family for a vacation.

The other day my colleague Ammar and I were chatting and I what was the maximum number of people he had seen on a moto. He said "six". I was impressed the most I had ever seen was five.

Today I set a new record, there was a family of seven on a moto. The father was driving; he had two toddlers in front of him. Mom was on the way back, it looked like she was trying to nurse an infant, and she had two more toddlers between her and pop.

I saw the moto stopped at a light. I counted them once and said to myself, "that can't be" I counted them again, yes "seven". Then I counted to make sure I had all of the heads. There were really seven on one moto.

I had been shopping in the Russian marked and did not have a camera. I really wanted a photo of this.

Stone carving

My daughters might like to see the hand work done not far from my house. On street 178 just off of Nonrandom there are four or five stone carving shops. Yes, they start with a large or small block of stone and carve it into some very intricate designs. I have seen other locations along the highway to Siam Reap where they carve large items, about the size of an old Volkswagen.

Near my house the largest piece I have seen is about four feet tall, that's not small when you think it has been chiseled out of solid stone.

The carvers in Cambodia come by their talent from a long line of carvers. The Angkor complex has thousands of carvings. Below is only a very small sample.

The work is mostly done with traditional tools. It is slow work.

In addition to carving more artistic items they carve signs of all sizes from very large to signs for house numbers.

Shoe repair shop Cambodian style

When I departed Switzerland for Cambodia, I knew it would be warm here and my footwear should be sandals. I brought two pair and a pair of running shoes. The running shoes have not had as much use as I would like but the heat makes it hard for me to run, my sandals on the other hand have carried the load. Of the two pair, I have one pair that I have used most of the time, last week I noticed they were getting a little more than worn, time for a fix up.

I remembered passing a shoe repair shop on my to the Orussey market, why not give it a try. I put on my second pair of sandal, packed the worn pair in my backpack and headed to see what I could work out. The shop was open, and as expected the man did not speak any English. He did understand that I wanted new leather on the inside.

I thought he may have some leather available, he did, he pulled out the leather from another large leather flip flop type of sandal. How could I tell, it was the shape of a sandal, it had stitching round the edge and there was a hole where the leather top went into the base between the large toe and the others.

He placed it on my sandal and it looked like it would work. I asked when it would be done, expecting tomorrow some time, and he said 5:00, that was about 45 minutes. Great.

I walked around the market, purchased fish for dinner and bananas and rice cooked in the banana leaf. I arrived back the shoe repair at about 4:45. When I returned the man was still working on one shoe. He was cutting and putting a small piece of leather over the hole in the new leather where the flip flop part had been.

The repair was a little expensive, I am sure it was tourist price, $3.00. I will tell you how well it works down the road.

Fresh pork in the market

Pork is my meat of choice in Cambodia and I think that is the case for many others. When I go through the market, there are numerous stalls selling fresh pork, every cut of pork you can think of and some that are new to me.

The woman is selling just about everything from the pig except the squeal, you can see tails, liver, intestines, raw bacon and many other cuts laid out on a reed mat.

In the next photo you can see brains laying on lotus leaves, it looks like intestines in the red plastic bag and pig ears on the right.

In the last photo, the lady is trying to shave the hair off of raw bacon.

I know this is the way it goes for meet in the market, I don't think on any of this while I am having my pork and rice breakfast.