Memories of Cambodia

[giantcanopy]

Went for a short break to Cambodia with another friend after my ORD before i start my work proper. We stayed in the PeaceOfAngkor guesthouse for 5 nights. Trip was smooth sailing with friendly guesthouse staffs and the Mr nice guy Tuk Tuk driver Savin. ( Pics not in sequence of our travel )

We woke up at 430am to make our way to AngKor Wat for the classical sunrise shot.
Unfortunately it was rather cloudy that faithful morning, managed to catch a glimpse of the early hues but shy of the morning sun. This was taken from beneath a few steps to bring the walkway into perspective
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We woke up at 430am again in hope to nail the postcard shot. We had better luck this time, with the almost dried up lotus lake as the mirror. The right lake was decimated to a small puddle.
2.


And minutes later, with stacked filters
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I was pretty intrigued by the exuberant intricate carvings and took almost too many for comfort. I ended up buying several guide books locally to identify the ones i took.
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And the Sanskrit
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[giantcanopy]

The compound was teeming with eager tourists by the time the sun was up
Took this shot from a hidden corner while the mum was adjusting the shoes of her child, not knowing that the granny was actually behind me watching.
Shot was intentionally tilted to bring the child in selective focus
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[giantcanopy]

The Phsar Chas or the Old Market is another must visit for travellers.
Bustling with activities and jammed packed with human traffic. It is a nice place to hunt for souvenir, books, food ( if u are game to try )
Got my quality *chiong* travel books there at relatively good prices. 3 USD for a fully illustrated guide book, no complaints

I took a few sneak shots before she finally realised something was amiss and looked at me
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ZZzzzzz ..
She was actually shooing flies with the DIYed stick and plastic bag
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Tea and spices ?
They actually had japansese translations for these ornamental bags e.g. O-cha
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We walked around the market perimeter in the day and decided to try if their grilled bananas could rival our goreng pisang. It was really really not fantastic. But the shot of the girl's expression made swallowing abit more palatable and worth it
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This boy decided to steal some sleep waiting for his mum in the market
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[giantcanopy]

Abit more reach ! Now where is that Pepsi ....
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Spacing into the distance
The local stall holders sitting on the table doing business.
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There is an explosion of shop houses in the old market area
Feel like spending more money ? This grab shot was taken on our super fast Tuk Tuk wheeling around the district at night on our way for dinner
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Khmer Kitchen. Highly recommended. Cheap and good food.
If u r into Khmer food that is.
This is a shot of a common ? windchime deco hung out at the doorway ceiling
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[shgfun]

A very nice series, especially those sneak shots.

[crazypaladin]

Nice series! These photos make me reminiscent of my trip to AngKor many years back. Those memories are still fresh in my mind!

Good photos and great story telling!

[giantcanopy]

thanks for the kind comments bros
I got into some trouble with my Jetstar flight back and the (old guy) Airport Officer insisted that my name was not registered in their electronic system and i cannot get my boarding ticket. Somehow i checked with another (lady) Officer and i got my ticket without problems ... Hmmm.. And no one picked up the 24hr Jetstar hotline for the next 30 minutes.

You will get to see more motorcyclists ( including Tuk Tuks ) and bicycles than cars.
Safety first ? I saw someone cramping 3 kids on a bike.
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Angkor children have a certain uniqueness in them. Maybe they are more hungry
Waving to me to stop by and get a jackfruit from him, and yet multitasking his mouth to blow up a balloon ??!?
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[giantcanopy]

The hunt for food continues : Supper

Grilled steamed eggs.
My friend loved it. I was ... too full to try
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A street stall holder at the vicinity of central market chosing the "best" roasted chicken for us.
Our Tuk Tuk driver negotiated the price with her
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[giantcanopy]

We went to Phnom Bakheng for sunset.
The stairs up were dangerously steep, and the broken steps were like half the length of my foot. Amazingly this did not stop some older tourists risk the climb ( I dun think i will do it at age 50 especially when all the arthritis sets in .. ) Evacuate the temple asap when the last bit of sunset is out. Repelling is much easier task

Here is the sunset.
The last bit unfortunately was cloud shrouded, and the sun abit too overexposed to my preference. The trees growing around the west kinda prevented folks from using the distant fields as the backdrop
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[giantcanopy]

Banteay Srei ( aka Citadel of the Women ) is a small and extremely elegant temple with some of the most intricate carvings dedicated to God Shiva.
After visiting the other Angkor temples, this is definitely the most ornate one i have seen.

Be there real early to catch clean pan shots of the compound. by mid morning it
would be swamped with tourists. The morning light enhances the already
orangey-pink stone used for constructing the temple

3 photos stitched into one
21.

[giantcanopy]

A shot of one of the shrines within the compound sited on a platform with beautiful sculptures, with 6 stairs up, leading to the south.
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Each pediment carvings of the buildings in Banteay Srei tells an interesting tale.
This particular one depicts the fire in Khandava Forest, East pediment of the North Library
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Another shot tilted for selective focus
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[Nizz]

Very nicely done. Thanks for sharing....

I'm leaving for Siem Reap myself coming Thursday....and your images are definite inspirations. Anymore?

Nizz

[giantcanopy]

Thanks Nizz.
I am sure you will enjoy your trip there!

Another tilt.
Note that these carvings have been around for more than thousand years.
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Yet another tilted attempt
Ravana the demon with a thousand head attempting to uproot Mount Kailasa, the dwell of Shiva
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[Mashmallow]

Wow! Very beautifully taken. I was there just couple years ago. Too bad I wasn't into photography then. Took some record shots only, nothing compared to yours. Thanks for sharing. Have inspired me to go back there to shoot again.

[giantcanopy]

Thanks Mashmallow
If my future hectic job allows me to go for a few more trips a year ...

We Tuk Tuked to Kbal Spean in the later part of the noon.
Trip was super bumpy and slow, thanks to a recent heavy downpour that made the ground soggy and after a few heavy vehicles, deep impressions were made when it dried ( i learnt that from Savin ) Sometimes it was so bad we had to get off the road and let the Tuk Tuk manoeuvre slowly past huge depressions.

We stopped by the Flying Coconut for some refreshments.
Caught this lady trying to ??!? de-lice the guy
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The walk up the forested moutain track was a haven for macro shooters. Though I wasn't really there to shoot insects, but since they are there, so ..
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This butterfly was resting on one of the roots of the forest grounds
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[zcf]

nice shots, hope to visit there in the future.

[Mashmallow]

Siem Reap is just another old town for photogs, other than that, nothing much to explore, I think. Every stall there sells the same wares. Did you go up the famous hill to catch sunrise/sunset? I went up there but weather was not ideal, did not get to see the setting sun. The hill is steep and not paved. Going up is quite difficult and getting down is another challenge. Overall, Siem Reap is a place worth visiting.

[jcryan55]

it's a good choice to stay at Peace of Angkor guesthouse. The owner himself, Dave Perkes, is an established and he trained all his staff, including Tutu drivers, tour guides, waiters to be well versed with the photographic spots and knowledge of time and people there. They were the ones who hosted us when about 32 of us went last year for the Circle of Light Light Footed photo trip. They planned an excellent itinerary and semaless ground transport arrangement. Fancy able to allow 32 photographers to be able to do the same itinerary over 6 days period. The logistics, food , drinks, tour guides, transport, rooms etc must have been a nightmare if we're to have to organise it ourselves.

Check out photos from our trip here:

http://www.ecircleoflight.org/showthread.php?t=587

[Mashmallow]

Wow, saw your pics, jcryan55. Quite a big group to Siem Reap. If got this kind of photog trip in future, I don't mind going. Must be very fun and fruitful. Thanks for sharing.

[Redsun]

Nice pics!
I wouldnt mind going on photography trips either
muz look look for such opportunities!