exploring eating capturing
Angkor Wat is apparently the biggest religious structure in the world. It was first constructed in the early part of the 12th century as a Hindu temple but by the end of the 12th century it had become a Buddhist place of worship. It is …
I have so very many photos of Angkor Wat it will have to be covered by at least a couple of posts or else if anyone is actually reading this you may well loose the will to live! First up sunrise. I had to get …
If you are heading to Siem Reap another place to stop off for a visit would be the Floating Villages of Kompong Phluk. You can hire a boat for half a day to explore the remoter corners of these villages. Depending on the time of year the water levels will vary. I was there in late November just at the end of the rainy season so the water was as high as it gets.
It is a fascinating chance to see how people live life under these circumstances. I found it quite moving and would quite like to live like this for a while. Everything is both dependant on the water and made difficult by the water. Once again human ingenuity shines through and really helps one to see that our own small problems at home are really nothing.
I particularly loved the children in this place they were so full of beans and fun! The first little chap was part of the crew for the boat we were using and he was very full of importance about his job and also offered massages!
It was fascinating to see the tops of trees peering above the water and hard to imagine the area without all the water. After the hustle and bustle and smells of the market it was a really pleasant experience to sit on top of a boat and meander through tree tops and houses and glimpses this life that is so different to mine.
At what I’m guessing was the furthest point away we moored up and got out for a wander around the main temple. It was peaceful and calm and once again the people very welcoming. I do sometimes wonder if they get at all sick of tourists coming to gaze at their lives I think I would! But they don’t show it if they do feel that way.
We sailed back from here as the sun began to set which made everything beautiful and tinged with that golden hour glow. A great way to end a day another highly recommended experience if you are travelling to Cambodia.
On the road from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap there is a great restaurant called Arunras. It is full of locals who have stopped on their various journeys and one or two tourists. I had a big plate of fried Morning Glory and a big …
This is the second post today that comes with a warning. The images are not quite as harrowing as the previous post but neither are they easy viewing. Again it is important to remember and learn lessons, but as I am currently on my own …
I have been sitting here thinking long and hard about this post. Part of me didn’t want to write it or have to look at my photos again and I questioned even if I should have taken photos of such horror. But in the end I have come to the conclusion that it is a very necessary thing to remember atrocities and hold those human beings (just like me) in great honour for what they had to bare.
So this post comes with a warning that it will upset you and some of the images are disturbing but it is important to face the bad stuff, learn lessons and never forget but find a way to move forward.
This was another one of those days that took me back to being a teenager in the 1980’s and listening to my dad telling me about (and showing me disturbing images) of the killing fields as they were being discovered. I also vividly remember John Craven on Newsround (a British news program for kids) very carefully sharing the story in a way that children could grasp. I remember being speechless and deeply upset as the stories unfolded of what had been going on in secret and how ordinary people like me on the other side of the world had suffered so much. Again I have to say how grateful I am to my parents for not hiding truths from me and helping me to understand some very hard things I think it has made me stronger for it in the long run.
The Choeung Ek Genocidal Centre is not very far from Phnom Pen, surprisingly close really. Originally the area was a Chinese cemetery and this was the reason that Poll Pot (who became the leader of Cambodia in 1975) chose the site for the genocide that ensued. It would seem to me that he was essentially a mad man who had too much power that went to his head, and he was surrounded by yes men and women hungry for power and status too, I can’t think of another reason why someone would orchestrate such misery.
The image above is the memorial stupa built to house the remains of over eight thousand victims that were discovered buried in 129 mass graves all over this site. It is a haunting experience walking round the towering inside of the stupa and coming face to face with the skulls of those who died. It almost doesn’t seem real it takes some time to sink in, and kind of took my breath away.
The site has been very well developed giving a real sense of peace, respect and honour to those who died at the same time as sharing the awful facts. The site has the feel of a peace garden or well cared for cemetery which essentially is what it is. There are wooden walk ways to follow around the area to avoid walking on the undiscovered remains of anyone which gives quite a reverence to the place. There are examples of areas that were mass graves which are fenced off and the fences have many many bracelets hanging on them from visitors needing to do something in response to what they are seeing. I added my own that had been a buddhist blessing to me it seemed the right thing to do.
This tree is covered with bracelets in memory of the children that died against it. There is something even more sobering when children are involved. There are glass vitrines dotted around the grounds with fragments of clothes or bones that were found when excavations took place in the 1980’s. Looking at the clothes in particular is unnerving as they are contemporary to my life and I can imagine having worn some of them, which directly forms links in your head to the people who died.
Below is the tree that had a loud speaker hung from it that played music to cover up the sounds from the victims so that even the near by villages had no idea what was happening on their doorstep.
I will end with an image from the farthest part of the site that has been given over to a pond and lotus flowers are happily growing. A covered seat has been placed at the end so you can sit and ponder and take in the beautiful new life that has sprung up out of such devastation. I think that is the thought I should end on. There is always hope in the darkest of times and the human spirit is an incredible thing that will always rise again.
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I apologise for being a bit slow keeping up with my travels here. I am blaming my shoddiness firmly on the lack of access to decent internet and not at all anything to do with enjoying myself and having a good time. Well I’m glad …
One other place I visited from Ho Chi Minh City was the Cu Chi Tunnels. This is a big museum complex that gives you knowledge and experience of the life in the tunnels of the Viet Con during the Vietnam war. Now I am totally …
From Ho Chi Minh city it is possible to travel for a day down to the Mekong Delta and get a little taste of life in that area. Life revolves around the water, fish is plentiful and it seems to be quite a lush and fertile place.
If you travel down to My Tho City and head to the river you can hire a boat to take you over to one of the islands that sit in the middle of the river. There are all sorts of cottage industries that are based on the islands from a coconut factory, fishing, bee keepers, orchid farms amongst others. It is possible to book onto a days tour of many of these things and get a small sample of life. That is what I did and I really enjoyed the experience.
The coconut factory. I am a huge fan of coconut so particularly enjoyed this place especially as there was a shop and lots of different sweets made from coconut to try and to buy. I also managed to find a coconut spoon the same as we used in the noodle making process so that was an added bonus.
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Trying lots of tropical fruit.
Durian fruit (a very smelly one but tastes quite good)
Papaya, pineapple, dragon fruit, mini bananas and mango. Although I have tasted most of these before they are nothing like we have at home it is all so fresh and straight from the tree as it were. All across Southeast Asia it is customary to eat your fruit with a sugar, salt and chilli sprinkle on top and I have got quite used to this now I think it may be a feature when I’m home.
I learnt a little bit about Vietnamese musical instruments…
I met a bee keeper and sampled some of the produce.
Then there were orchids. While I was admiring these beautiful flowers the rest of my travel companions were taking it in turns to hang a python around their necks not at all my idea of fun so I was grateful to the orchids for the distraction.
I am constantly scribbling something in a sketchbook. So here are a few drawings from my first sketchbook of this trip.