2014, Day 309 - Take to the skies

True to form we were up before five o'clock this morning and, when we couldn't wait any longer, we left our hotel in search of food.  They provide a light breakfast of fresh fruit, coffee, and toast but that is not enough to fuel us for a whole morning.  So we headed out with laundry in hand to drop off which was easily sorted.

Food is always a bit more of challenge because we have to find a place that we either trust or where we can communicate with the proprietors and those places that open early carter to locals.  Fortunately we found a vegetarian place that served a cafeteria style breakfast.  So we filed in, pointed to what we wanted, dressed our food with condiments, and had a very satisfying breakfast.  And the grand total for this feast?  Less than four dollars for everyone!

Contented with our food we made our way back to the market.  I never tire of markets so I am always game.  Araceli wanted spicy nuts and I wanted some bananas.  The fruit was easily sorted but the spicy nuts were impossible to find so she had to settle for fresh roasted peanuts.  Melissa found little rice dumplings with sweetened coconut cream filling sold by sweet little old lady who I noticed sampling her own wares.  Given that she could have bought just about anything else I take it as a good sign that she likes what she sells and they were indeed delicious.

The next couple of hours we spent wandering the streets of the Old City visiting temples.  Most were totally decked out for Yi Peng and almost all were crowded.  Having seen all these temples before it was still amazing and even more so for all the work that has been done in the past four years since I last visited.

Soon we had to make our way back to the hotel as we had booked massages for the early afternoon.  At the appointed time a car came and whisked us away to be pampered for a couple of hours.  First we had a massage and then a second time over with hot herbal compresses.  I found it incredibly relaxing and the compresses were totally new and rather intense and amazing.  It was a blissful couple of hours which ended with transportation back to the hotel.

After resting for about an hour we left in search of dinner.  We took a couple wrong turns but eventually found the place we were looking for that served a variety of vegetarian Thai dishes.  All of the food was excellent and by the time we finished lanterns were dotting the night sky.  First we went to Wat Chedi Luang where we found a few monks launching their sky lanterns.  After taking a few pictures we waded through the crowds to the river where the waterfront park hosts masses of people launching their own sky lanterns.

We found a vendor and purchased a few to release and had a great time adding to the masses that were filling the sky.  After a while we were starting to feel the day catch up with us so we headed back to the hotel to get cleaned up, peruse our pictures, and call it a night.

Fuji X-T1, Fujinon 23/f1.4R
23mm, f1.4, 1/125 sec @ 1250 ISO

2013, Day 35 - Melting in winter

I can't believe that the weather we had while in Cambodia was considered mild.  The sun was merciless and there was rarely any air movement so it was like living in a giant sauna and in the hottest part of the year it would reach temperatures fifteen to twenty degrees hotter than what we experienced.  I always thought that it was only hipsters who wear scarves in the summer but I found that the krama, a traditional Cambodian scarf made of cotton, was great to keep the sun off my neck and head plus it served to help keep sweat from running into my eyes.  It isn't the same reason hipsters wear scarves in summer but at least they can be completely functional.

Canon 1D X, Canon 70-200/f2.8L IS Mark II
200mm, f4, 1/1250 sec @ 100 ISO

2013, Day 10 - Mending

After an ass-numbing morning riding the bamboo train with Brian, Nicole, Araceli, and Francene we went to Wat Ek Phnom.  It is a small temple mostly in ruins with a modern counterpart in front.  The sun was viciously hot and after exploring the ground Francene, Araceli, and I wandered out of the complex.  I had seen a boy fishing in the stream adjacent to the temple complex and thought it might be worth a picture.  Sadly he was untangling his net but I liked the look of concentration on his face and took this picture instead.

Even now I can feel the heat when I look at this image, even feel the sweat trickling down my face.  Given that it was snowing this morning it is nice to reminisce.

Canon 1D X, Canon 70-200/f2.8L IS Mark II
200mm, f4, 1/200 sec @ 100 ISO

2012, Day 318 - Blessed

As I sit here writing about my day it is with a full stomach and a glass of mango juice next to my computer.  I will freely admit that my tank is running on empty but it was such an exciting day.  Brian and Nicole opted for the luxury of extra sleep while Araceli and I were ready to head out the door at six o'clock.  The temples at Angkor Wat are so enchanting that we couldn't stomach the idea of losing a day.  Even with as much time as we've spent there already we've seen just a small fraction of the splendor and we couldn't possibly claim any real familiarity on such whirlwind visits.

So with heavy lids and anxious excitement we departed our hotel.  Our first stop was at Preah Khan, the temple of the holy sword where King Jayavarman VII's princely weapon was housed.  Originally this was the site of a city, temple, and university where thousands lived.  There were reputedly over a thousand dancers who were trained in the Hall of the Dancers and over a thousand teachers at the university.  Such a large complex needed a lot of servants, some estimates suggest up to one hundred thousand servants and other such attendants.

Today the jungle has swallowed much of the structure.  Hallways have been reduced to rubble and giant trees have worked to pry the temple apart with their roots like ghostly hands moving inexorably to destroy man's creation.  As we walked through the complex we passed through a junction and entered an open area where the structure was largely collapsed.  Perched on a fallen stone with her offering to the Buddha was a wizened nun.  Her skin was the color of mahogany and crisscrossed with wrinkles.  She is obviously a woman who has lived through a lot but every line of her face looked to be the result of constant smiling.  I doubt she had a tooth in her head but when she grabbed my wrist and offered her blessing I could feel strength in her grip.  She didn't offer a single line of prayer for any of us either, it was a long blessing followed by a warm smile and a slightly mischievous twinkle in here eyes.

In the 1920s and 1930s the temple city was cleared of most minor vegetation but the larger trees were allowed to remain.  Some restoration has taken place but most of the work done has been with an eye to preservation and safety.  The current group responsible for Preah Khan's maintenance has said that to do much more to restore the temple would be to create a risk they are unwilling to take.  That cautious approach has made it a stunningly beautiful and romantic place.

Soon the large tour buses began to arrive so we fled to Neak Pean, a unique island temple.  It is a place of purification and is still visited by people who feel the weight of their sins burdening them and are looking for relief.  It is made up of five square ponds with a large pond in the center and a smaller one on each side.  In the center of the large pond in a circular temple the base of which is entwined by two naga.  Along the walkway to the temple that is now submerged is the figure of a mythical horse that saved fishermen from the island of an ogre.  While beautiful recent changes allow viewing only from a distance which is too bad because the temple is in a pretty and rather secluded location.

After our brief excursion to Neak Pean we moved on to Ta Som.  It is a small temple built in the 12th century by King Jayavarman VII in memory of his father.  Ta Som is another temple that is as much trees as it is stone.  The tumbled ruins are scattered around and numerous trees can be blamed for the destruction.  Given its small size and rather remote location it was a nice place to stop.

By now the sun was getting really hot and with the really high humidity we were beginning to wilt.  So we returned to the air conditioned van and continued around the temple loop that would take us out of the Angkor complex.  We passed a few small temples and Mr. Mony told us about them from in the vehicle but we asked the driver to pull over at East Mebon.

Mr. Mony asked if we were interested in getting out and Araceli looked at me, asking the unspoken question, "Should we?" and "Will you survive?"  I was sweaty and tired but we are in Cambodia for only a few weeks and it seemed silly not to stop so we jumped out of the van.

East Mebon was built in the 10th century by Rajendresvara II and designed by the only known architect of Angkor, Kavindrarimathana.  It used to sit in the middle of East Baray, a reservoir, that has since dried making it more easily accessible if perhaps a little less impressive.  This is one of the Hindu temples and East Mebon is dedicated to Shiva.  Eight elephants reside of the four corners of each of the two levels and there are numerous carvings depicting scenes from the Hindu mythology that still survive in rather good condition.  It is hard to believe as we stood looking down on the jungle and red clay roads surrounding us that this temple was once accessible only by boat.

If I was tired before the additional adventure sapped my remaining energy.  I was ready to trade in my Indiana Jones hat and my whip for some food.  We had skipped breakfast so we asked Mr. Mony if we could be dropped off a little ways from our hotel so we could eat.  So we left him at Pub Street and started wandering past restaurants and down little alley ways to little and not-so-little cafes.  I think both Araceli and I have been enjoying the food so we stopped off at the Khmer Kitchen.

Being so early, I think just past ten thirty, we were the only ones seated but we got great service.  I indulged in another passionfruit shake and we ordered dumplings, vegetable soup, and tofu with mixed vegetables and cashews.  The shake was cold, sweet, slightly tart, and completely refreshing.  Unfortunately the dumplings weren't really my cup of tea, the dough was too sticky and chewy at the same time but the soup was excellent.  There were notes of lemongrass, galangal, lime, and garlic in the broth; it tasted of a slightly mellower version of tom yum.  Finally there was the tofu which was very exciting for me because it seems like it has been forever since I had tofu.  That's not even close to true but I usually have it a couple times a week so I was missing it.  The vegetables were nicely cooked and the sauce was a light garlic flavored affair with beautiful whole cashews.  After eating Araceli took a much needed walk through the Old Market to burn a few calories and jump start the digestion process.

So we rested, dozed a little and whiled away the hottest part of the day until about three o'clock when Mr. Mony returned to collect all of us.  He told us we were going to head out to Ta Nei, a small temple that is rather remote.  As we made our way our of Siem Reap the sky opened up and it began to rain.  Soon there were claps of thunder and forks of lightning illuminating the sky.  We were a bit worried but by the time we arrived most of the rains had passed.  Because it is so small it too has not received much attention until recently and many large trees have broken down walls and corridors.  What remains is a beautiful ruin made all the more attractive by the storm that broke just minutes before we arrived.

From Ta Nei we went to Ta Keo, the "bad omen" temple.  It is called the "bad omen" temple because during its construction one of the towers was struck by lightning and it was decided that the damage was an omen so all further work was abandoned.  It remains a work of two tiers with five towers but there are no carvings because they would have happened during the last phase of construction and it never got that far.  Today there is a Buddhist shrine at the top of the central tower which is where we were when the clouds turned black and the thunder began again.  Not wanting to build on the bad omens we descended the steep stairs and fled to the van, excited and exhausted.

As we pulled away the sky opened up again.  Our timing was perfect and fortune was on our side.  We returned to our hotel before heading out for dinner.  We left looking for a Mediterranean restaurant we heard about but after half an hour of wandering we gave up.  Araceli and I went out for organic local vegetarian Khmer food while Brian and Nicole opted for something a little more familiar and had Italian food.  Our dinner was delicious and we met a nice couple from Austin on the last night of their honeymoon.

Full to bursting and exhausted from the days' events we returned to our hotel.  Once we had scrubbed the dust and dried sweat off it we decided to take a little time to relax before heading to bed.

Canon 1D X, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II
35mm, f4, 1/100 sec @ 100 ISO

2012, Day 313 - On the road again

Today was a travel day; we left Phnom Penh this morning bright and early for Battambang.  We were picked up at our hotel and then went to collect Francene before hitting the road.  Mr. Pech Mony is our driver and guide and he was ready to allow us to stop along the way for pictures and exploration, perfect for a gaggle of photographers and two patient non-photographers.  We are very fortunate because Mony had the pleasure of being the guide for both Bill and Hillary Clinton; Bill after he left office and Hillary in her capacity as Secretary of State.

As we wended our way out of Phnom Penh we passed a large waterfront community.  Mony explained that they are predominantly fishermen and while most of Cambodia is Buddhist they are Muslim.  To drive the point home we drove past mosque after mosque.  Their homes are built on stilts and hang over the river from which their livelihood derives.

Soon we were outside the outskirts of Phnom Penh and into the countryside.  Buildings were replaced by fields of tall green and yellow rice.  Some was being harvested, the earliest of the crop, while others still have weeks to go before they're ready.  The fields are dotted with sugar palms and in the distance there are mountains topped with temples and pagodas.  Suddenly Mony pointed out the right side of the van and asked if we wanted to stop.  When we saw what he saw we all said yes and as we exited the van we found a rice paddy with dozens on water buffalo grazing.  It was beautiful and rather iconic Asia.

So we harassed the wildlife for a little bit and received some information about the local flora (those nifty sensitivity plants the close when you touch them are natives) and then hopped back into the van.  It was another hour before we made a second stop to stretch our legs and see another market.  Yes, we all love markets.  Here we learned about betel nuts.  They are a mild stimulant with a taste that is supposed to be peppery; before chewed they are wrapped in a betel leaf and flavored with what was described as "snail slime" and boiled "cow shit."  That may be a totally accurate description but it was a white sort of liquidy paste.  It doesn't sound appetizing but I supposed some people must find it delicious.  Oh, and it stains your mouth red and apparently strengthens your teeth.  I think that woman could chew through rocks if the color of her teeth were any indication...

We continued walking and at the end of the market discovered a proper floating village.  Probably over a dozen houseboats were anchored about a hundred feet into the river.  Their roofs were dotted with TV antenna and long boats were shuttling school children back and forth.  Sadly it was getting really hot out under the sun so we didn't stay too long and we were getting hungry so it was time to find some lunch.

Choices for the sole vegetarian were a little limited so I had morning glory (water spinach or ong choy) and rice.  It was well seasoned and a little bit spicy but not totally filling.  After filling our bellies we were back on the road.  Having stopped so many times it was decided that we could make one more stop to see where they make pottery.

It wasn't too far from where we ate and just a little way off the highway up red clay roads to their home and workshop.  They were working under a corrugated roof with open sides making traditional clay stoves, shaping them, making cut outs to add wood, and then tearing apart old tin cans to make buckets to protect them as they are transported to the market to be sold.  We could hear the constant sounds of hammering as they added little wire rims under the end of the tin shells.  This was certainly a family endeavor, all the children were helping during some part of the process except for the youngest who were napping or playing with bits of leftover clay.

After saying our goodbyes we climbed back into our trusty chariot and booked it for Battambang.  Battambang is the second biggest city in Cambodia and is known for their colonial French architecture and the beauty of the rice paddies we drove past on our way into town.  The sun was low in the sky when we arrived at our new hotel, a lovely collections of bungalows surrounding a large pool and surrounded by tropical vegetation.  It didn't take us long to dump our luggage and get on the internet to find a place to have dinner.  We decided to try a place called Khmer Delight because they had all kinds of local and western choices on the menu figuring there should be something for everyone.

I don't really recall what the others ate but Francene and I started by splitting a sweet potato and coconut cream soup.  It was well seasoned with kaffir lime, garlic, and bits of ginger in a curry base; thick and hearty just like we expected.  We moved on to mixed vegetables in a light garlic sauce that was their vegetarian dinner special.  How could anyone complain when the sauce has big chunks of garlic floating with the rest of your veggies?  Finally, we finished with red curry vegetables; it was very well balanced and only lacked a bit of heat, otherwise it would have been perfect.  I was shocked to see we clears our plates, three generous servings and not a bit was left.  And the cost for this veritable feast?  Less than five dollars!

Stuffed and happy we called our tuk tuk driver and he collected us so we could shower and get to bed early!

Canon 1D X, Canon 70-200/f2.8L IS Mark II
200mm, f4, 1/640 sec @ 100 ISO

2012, Day 312 - River crafts

Last night we decided to get an early start this morning.  We've been up by five in the morning anyway so we might as well take advantage of the relative cool and the lack of crowds at that time.  At six o'clock we met Sok, our tuk tuk driver, and asked him to take us to the Tonle Sap where all the boats are docked.

Upon arrival Sok helped us arrange for transportation out to Koh Dach, sometimes known as Silk Island.  After some initial confusion we were able to rouse one of the captains and head out onto the river.

Being so early we were able to watch families fishing from their boats as we made our way up the river.  Children waved enthusiastically and men cast and retrieved their nets as we sped by.  Given the early hour our captain met us in a sampot, the Cambodian version of a sarong, but bathed on the bow while simply locking the wheel of the ship in place.  After he dressed in a nice shirt and slacks.  I suspect they are not used to having work so early in the day.

It took almost an hour to navigate up the Tonle Sap to the Mekong and finally reach Koh Dach.  When we arrived our captain slid into the mud bank, tossed down the gang plank, and drove an anchor into the soft earth.  After disembarking we found ourselves on a winding dirt road flanked by homes on stilts and surrounded by fruit trees.  The residents smiled and children waved excitedly as we walk by.  It was rather idyllic.

After a short walk we arrived at the home of one of the island's silk weavers.  They had already started working and greeted us at the gate; mom was sitting at a loom, auntie was spinning silk, and two of the four sisters played the part of hosts.  Naysim took the lead and showed us how raw silk is spun to make thread, the difference between dyed and natural fibers, what the silk worm cocoons look like and even how the looms work.  Araceli was allowed to weave a couple lines on one loom and did a pretty good job but it drove home the degree of skill required and I am sure that setting up a loom is even harder getting all the threads lined up to create different patterns and designs.

While showing us around Naysim kept plying us with food.  First it was bananas picked from their yard, then she offered steamed rice with coconut and jack fruit, after that cooked bananas.  When she say how much we enjoyed the food provided Naysim gathered more.  We had papaya, fresh coconuts, and an absolutely amazing mango all of which came from their garden.  It was kind of them to share their food with us and given that we hadn't had time for breakfast it was greatly appreciated.

And of course we shopped like the good consumers that we are.  I really like textiles, I am fascinated by the regional differences so I looked through all they had to offer and asked a bunch of questions.  In the end we were all loaded down with our purchases and left with some new friends.  Naysim and her sister were so funny, they asked questions about our travels, about the United States, about the foods we eat and how it differs from the food here; their curiosity was great because, hopefully, they learned from us because I know we certainly learned a lot from them.

A bit poorer but happily full of fruit we headed back to our boat passing horse-drawn carts delivering ice, people on bikes, and children playing along the path.  The boat ride back to the dock was a lot shorter as we were now moving with the current rather than against it.  When we had successfully docked I called Francene and we arranged to get together for our next adventure.

The new destination, Psah Thmei - Phnom Penh's Central Market!  It is dominated by an Art Deco monolith built in 1937 during the French colonization.  There are four wings that radiate from the central dome and when it was first opened Psah Thmei was reputed to be the largest market in Asia.  While that is no longer true it is still a spectacular piece of architecture filled with stalls selling food, clothing, electronics, home goods, pretty much everything you could ever possibly need.  Fortunately we had finished our shopping earlier in the day so after a while we decided to find some lunch.

Francene suggested we go to the Foreign Correspondent Club, a Phnom Penh institution from Cambodia's colonial period.  It is right along the river and while we were finishing up our lunch we saw Mitt Romney appear on the television in the next room.  All of us stopped, left our table and went to listen to him speak.  When I realized it was a concession speech I was struck by the appropriateness of the venue.  The FCC has always been a haunt of expats in Phnom Penh, journalists, and they would have heard the news from home in the same room we were standing in.  Just another special experience and many thanks to Francene for her recommendation.

After lunch we returned to our hotel to rest but not before making plans to rejoin Francene and Tim for a little takeout dinner at their place.  With the election news still pouring in we thought it would be a good place to get caught up with events from home.  So we rested and relaxed, took a short walk after the sun set, and joined the Grewes for a nice meal and lively conversation.

So ends another wonderful day in Phnom Penh.  Tomorrow we head north to Battambang!

Canon 1D X, Canon 70-200/f2.8L IS Mark II
70mm, f4, 1/125 sec @ 200 ISO

2012, Day 311 - Life on the edge

Another morning with minor storms, not enough to wake us but mostly because our sleep schedule is so off right now that we had already been awake for some time.  It was probably about five o'clock when we started the day though in a somewhat slow and gradual kind of way.  We breakfasted together again by coincidence, all four of us happened to be up and hungry at the same time.

Once we had eaten and collected ourselves we met up with Yi and Pannha, friends of my friend Andrew.  They lead groups of international high school students on public service type activities throughout the country.  Right now they don't have students to lead right now so they offered to show us around a bit.  Who wouldn't want a local to play the part of your guide?

Yi and Pannha decided that it was important for us to see the killing fields at the Choeung Ek Genocidal Center so to keep us in a single slightly crowded tuk tuk Pannha excused himself and we bounced our way outside of Phnom Penh.  There are so many motorbikes and tuk tuks that traffic never really moves very fast and it seems like there is a patchwork of paved and semi-paved streets that jostle you as the driver tries to keep up with traffic while avoiding the worst of the potholes.

On the way Yi explained that the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge were not taught when he was in school so many people of his generation only know what they've been able to piece together or find out on their own.  Official estimates of the number of people killed during the reign of the Khmer Rouge range from 1.4 to 3 million with a total previous population of perhaps 7 million.  That is roughly between a quarter and half of the population!  The rest were herded out of the cities with the leadership claiming imminent bombing by the United State to motivate people to flee their homes to the safety of a more agrarian lifestyle.  The victims of the Khmer Rouge were ethnic and religious minorities, leaders outside of Khmer Rouge influence, intellectuals, artists, professionals, and those who were unwilling or unable to adapt to an agricultural lifestyle.

Walking through the killing fields was an odd experience.  There is a stupa that dominates the site, it is quite beautiful, but as you approach you can see that the middle is composed of a series of encased glass shelves and on each is piled the sorted skulls of hundreds upon hundreds murdered people sorted by gender and background.  Then you look out over the lawns and start to see depressions where mass graves were exhumed, the ground looks like a series of deep rippling waves.  Some trees were marked out for special attention and the signage explained that upon their trunks the heads of babies were smashed.  The Khmer Rouge wanted no survivors in the family of their victims.  Those trees still stand and terrible to think that they were covered in blood, living tools of murder.

The museum on site also showed the tools of execution.  All the implements of death employed were those that are silent, no guns but knives, axes, clubs, and gardening tools.  Initially it seems to personal and messy, that it would make genocide much more difficult for the perpetrators but then you read that there were people, not victims, living and working nearby and the Khmer Rouge didn't want them to know what was happening at the camp.  It's just difficult to look around and know that the land you're standing on in soaked in blood and to make matters worse about half of the leadership, the modern monsters, are still alive awaiting trial for their crimes.

It was terrible and sobering but I think that it is an important part of the history of Cambodia, that it informs a lot of their current society.  We were told by Tim, Francene's husband, that approximately ninety percent of the population is composed of subsistence farmers; perhaps a holdover of the Khmer Rouge agricultural ideal.  No person is unaffected by the actions of the Khmer Rouge but what is remarkable is how the people have recovered.  They are so open and friendly, they smile and laugh and seem pleased to have visitors to their country.

On our way back into Phnom Penh we stopped off at a small rural open air market.  Kids were just being let out of school and they eagerly greeted us by saying "hello" as they rode by on their bikes of walked past us.  I suspect that they aren't accustomed to seeing foreigners stop in their neighborhood.  It was a lot of fun really because instead of being accustomed to and jaded by all the foreign visitors that you sometimes see in the city the people here were genuinely excited to see us.  Children posed, women waved, and smiles were exchanged.  It was such a stark contrast to our visit to the killing fields just five minutes away.

We made our way back towards Phnom Penh and saw tuk tuks and trucks loaded with people and workers respectively.  Below is an illustration of a typical work truck with people piled on top of the fruits of their labors.  I know the roads are a bit rough and the grasses absorb some of the impact but it also causes them to bounce higher into the air.  Still, I expect that accidents are rare and that the workers are accustomed to riding safely.

We then had lunch and chatted more about life in Cambodia with Yi.  He was a fount of information and as we ate we talked and I feel like I have a much better grasp on how people live, what they think, how the country is changing, what they worry about for the future.  It was invaluable and I am grateful that Yi was so willing to field our persistent questions.

After lunch the heat of the day was beginning to take its toll so we headed back to the hotel.  Araceli and I chatted and planed for the our additional time in Phnom Penh and took the chance to run out and buy some more fruit.  We came back with rambutan, longan, and fresh young coconuts so we picked and emailed with Francene so we could get together for dinner.  To change things up a little from all the Khmer food we opted for a little Indian which was a nice change of pace.

Tomorrow we're hoping for an early start so I suppose that means we should get to bed early as well...

Canon 1D X, Canon 24-70/f2.8L Mark II
70mm, f4, 1/2000 sec @ 100 ISO