Labels: Asia, Cambodia, Phnom Penh

The history of Buddhism in Cambodia spans nearly two thousand years, across a number of successive kingdoms and empires. Today Buddhism is struggling to re-establish itself after it was nearly wiped out during the Khmer-Rouge era. The lack of Buddhist scholars and leaders and the continuing political instability makes its re-establishment difficult. Here are some images of Buddhism in Phnom Penh today plus a Banyan tree flower under which Buddha sat after enlightenment for seven days absorbed in his new realisation.

Labels: Asia, Cambodia, Phnom Penh, Temple

I thoroughly enjoy the colour, energy and massive variety of Asian markets. The choice in the fruit and vegetables arena is huge and everything looks very fresh and is generally local. Hygiene and animal welfare can be pretty abysmal in the meat, fish and chicken departments however!

Labels: Asis, Cambodia, Phnom Penh

The Royal Palace in Phnom Penh has been occupied by the Kings of Cambodia from it's construction in 1866 until present times ... with a period of absence when the country came into turmoil during and after the reign of the Khmer Rouge. I travelled their by Cyclo, a very relaxing experience compared to a Cyclo ride in Saigon, Vietnam. Cambodia is so much poorer than the rest of SE Asia with nowhere near as much disposable income per capita. The 'Civil War' was a major, major set back for all.

Labels: Asia, Cambodia, Phnom Penh

Ta Keo is a thousand year old temple-mountain near Angkor. Work stopped on its construction before any carvings were made on its walls and towers and so it feels quite massive and pagan-like. It is also the first temple to be build solely with sandstone. I was the only tourist there that morning. Spooky.

The Inner/Upper levels of Angkor Wat had been closed for three years for innovation and they opened on the very day I visited

Labels: Angkor Wat, Asia, Cambodia, HDR, Siem Reap, Temple

Angkor Wat is a temple complex at Angkor, Cambodia, built for the king Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. It is the only temple in Angkor to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation — first Hindu, dedicated to the god Vishnu, then Buddhist. The temple is the epitome of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. It has become a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag and is a world heritage site.
The sandstone was looking gorgeous in the early morning light. These images were all taken before 8am.

I arrived at Angkor Wat at 5am in the dark. Dawnbreak was lovely but not that serene as I was joined by another 200-300 photographers/tourists. So I left the viewing spot by the lake and entered the temple compound pretty swiftly well ahead of everyone. And then the serenity and wonder of the place hit me strongly.

Labels: Angkor Wat, Asia, Cambodia, Siem Reap, Sunrise, Temple

Although some of the young children in Kampong Phluk don't make it to school, most do. We climbed up to the classroom in a stilted house to say hello and leave a few riels in the donation box. The children enjoyed having their photos taken and viewing them on the back of the camera. The teacher made a point of telling them that we were from England and not Australia or America. Good Teacher.

Labels: Asia, Cambodia, Kampong Phluk, Siem Reap, Spontaneous Portraits