Wrapping it up

  Sorry it has taken me so long to write this summary of the trip but I have been busier than the proverbial "one armed paper hanger" since I returned. 
  First off, this was a terrific trip. I learned a lot. Nathan was fantastic as both photography instructor and tour guide. Both his living in Phnom Penh and speaking Cambodian made a huge difference, I believe, in what we, as a group got to do and see. Chris and Peggy were a delight to travel with and the sharing of experiences from previous trips was fun and enlightening. 
  As for Cambodia, I loved it! There is an "aliveness", if that is a word, to this culture which has made such a dramatic recovery in just the thirty or so years since the Khmer Rouge were driven out. During their reign the country was driven back nearly a thousand years as Pol Pot tried to reestablish an agrarian culture devoid of any modernity. People, in addition to being persecuted, were starving and had to eat anything they could get their hands on, including spiders! Today, the country seems to be making huge strides in improving infrastructure (I had a better cellular signal there than at home!) and modernizing as quickly as possible. This is a little scary and sad to some folks, who don't want to see the country lose its character. But people are busy doing all sorts of things that indicate a reviving economy and food seems plentiful. Still, compared to us in the west, these people have virtually nothing in terms of material possessions, but still they seem happy. Maybe I am being too simplistic or seeing what I wish to here, but everyone we met was very friendly and quick to smile. Many people speak English. Of course we were in predominantly tourist areas so that may not be representative. In speaking to one of the Buddhist monks that allowed us to photograph him I was told that learning English helped one obtain a good job.  I also learned that many young men became monks in order to obtain an education and would eventually return to secular life. 
  One interesting fact was that the US dollar was the "currency of the realm" so to speak. Many prices were quoted in dollars and most ATMs issued dollars. The local currency, the riel, exchanges at 4000 to the dollar and is used like small change. Apparently there is no actual coinage in circulation. 
  The food was wonderful, very similar to Thai. Lots of seafood. Everything was very fresh and I never got sick, but we only ate at restaurants so I can't speak about the "street food". My favorite was Tom Yum anything, but especially shrimp. Fresh fruit was a delight. You don't know what a mango really tastes like until you have had one that was tree ripened. 
   So, would I do it again? Absolutely! Where to next? Well, there's someone at home who would like to clip my wings a bit but I am hooked!  I absolutely want to continue the adventures. If I have my druthers it will be off to Burma.  I'm always on the lookout for interesting folks to travel with, so, if you are adventurous and have a place in mind, or on your bucket list, let me know. Maybe we can team up for a new expedition. You don't have to be rabid about photography, but it helps. Contact me at apex01@roadrunner.com. 

Last Day in Bangkok

   Today I was totally on my own, although I did see Nathan briefly to say goodbye before he caught his flight back to Phnom Penh. I needed to catch up on my blog so completed a couple of posts sitting down by the hotel pool. The pool itself was kind of interesting. It was located on the third floor but outside the building on an enclosed courtyard of sorts. I expected to be pretty small given that the hotel is self was in this densely packed area, with no real space between buildings. That's not to say the hotel interior was cramped at all, in fact my room was pretty spacious. I just was surprised to find this large an open space containing the pools. The main pool was at least 20 by 40 feet and there was a smaller children's pool as well set off by itself. It would have been pleasant enough to just spend the day there but I decided to go visit the Jim Thompson house, hoping for some good photo ops.

  Jim Thompson was the American architect who is credited with reviving the Thai cottage industry of hand woven silk. He visited Thailand during or just after WW II and fell in love with the Thai culture, built a beautiful, large house in the traditional Thai style but slightly westernized to incorporate his lifestyle and decorated it with many priceless Asian antiques. The house was built in the "jungle" on a klong, or canal as boats provided the best means of transportation in those days.
Daily he would travel on the klong to the local villages where he would work with the artisans, the silk weavers, on colors and designs for his products. He developed this into quite an enterprise over the years and then just mysteriously disappeared in the late sixties. Although many searched for him, no trace was ever found. Newspaper reports were made of sighting of Thompson in Malaysia, but those were probably mistaken identity cases. The Jim Thompson Foundation maintains his house as a museum and tribute.

  The first time I visited his house, just a few years after Thompson disappeared, I seem to recall it

was still in a rather remote location. But, Bangkok has certainly  grown in the past 40 years and the place is surrounded by urban sprawl. Still they try to keep the illusion of the jungle by surrounding the perimeter and  grounds with palms and dense vegetation and serene pools with water plants and fish. A very nice restaurant, gift shop and artists studio have also been added. The gift shop features many beautiful silk items. They are not inexpensive, but the quality is unsurpassed. Yes, girls, I did stop in there.
  Arriving at the house I was lumped together with some other English speakers for a guided tour. In the old days you were just allowed to wander about. But this was nice and some of the peculiar features of the house were explained, such as the very high thresholds in the doorways between rooms unlike our houses where there may be a low threshold between room in a Thai house you have to step up over the threshold, in this case something like a foot or so. This is to keep spirits from traveling from room to room. Apparently they are too short or lack feet to be able to step up and over. Our Thai tour guide was very pretty, petite and knowledgeable. But what really struck me was she had that same kind of sing song cadence to her voice that tour guides all over seem to have that let's you know your on a guided tour. Photography was not allowed inside the house proper but I did takes some pictures outside and on the grounds.
   I took a tuktuk back to the hotel. Glad I had brought a business card from the hotel, otherwise I'm not sure how I would have explained where I wanted to go to the driver. Still had a couple of hours so had a quick dinner of pad Thai, showered, and packed up ( is it possible this backpack has gotten heavier?). The taxi ride (Toyota Corolla - no tuktuk for this trip) to the airport took an hour. Check in and security went smoothly and now I'm on my way home!!
  Unless something interesting happens (I hope not!), I won't bore you with the final details of the trip home, but I will do a kind of summary of my impressions of the trip in a day or so. Thanks for coming along. Hope it was interesting.

Thai Royal Palace

  This morning we got to "sleep in". Meeting in the lobby at 9:00 we were going to pile into a couple of tuktuks and headed off to the Royal Palace. But one of the drivers advised me my shorts were too short. Not wanting to offend anyone with my sexy knees I ran back up to the room and quickly changed into long pants. Our driver was very pleased, smiled and gave me the thumbs up.
  The two drivers took different routes which made Nathan a bit nervous as we didn't know where Chris and Peg were. I think it was actually a little competition between the drivers as just prior to arriving at the palace we turned the corner and ended up just in front of the other two in their tuktuk. Our driver had a big grin, obviously pleased that his short cut had worked.

  At the entrance we found out that our clothing issue had not been totally resolved as Nathan's shorts, which came well below the knee, were deemed unacceptable by the clothing police at the entrance and he has to end up renting a pair of baggy pants at a facility set up just to accommodate visitors. 

  The palace grounds were mobbed with tourists and so we resolved to just do the best we could in terms of photography. The palace complex is overwhelmingly large and elaborately decorated. There was no way to take it all in in a photo anyway so concentrating on details rather than overviews was the way to go. In one area there was an active Buddhist shrine and I took a few pictures of folks
making sacrifices at the altars. Many of these were in the form of food or lighted incense or bits of gold leaf pressed onto a statue of the Buddha.  Couldn't resist photographing one woman lighting incense in her "I love NY" t-shirt.

  On the palace grounds is the temple of the Emerald Buddah.  Removing our shoes we went inside but were not allowed to photograph there so I took a picture through the doorway after leaving the temple, though I wished I had a longer telephoto lens. 

  Several buildings had enormously long murals on exterior, portico covered walls. I took some pictures of a Thai artist working carefully on a mural, all the time plugged into his iPod. 

  We did not go inside the weapons museum, but I did photograph the poor guard who was standing so still, like a statue, in that hot sun in heavy uniform.
Tourists would pose with him. Some would try to break his concentration and try to get him to smile. I've seen this done almost anywhere there are honor guards posted at tourist attractions (one exception - I've never seen it at Arlington).  There's a reason those guns aren't loaded!
  Hot and thirsty, we decided it was time to go and worked our way back to the entrance so Nathan could return his rented pants and retrieve his shorts. Tuktuking our way back to the hotel it felt good to get back in the A/C. After lunch Peg, Chris and I took a taxi to MBK, a huge (I mean hugeaaaaah) shopping mall with many genuine article shops and gobs of "knock off" shops. In the knock off shops one can bargain for the price. Taking a taxi back to the hotel we joined Nathan for the "last supper" of the group as shortly after we said goodbye to Peg and Chris as they departed for the airport and their flight back to the UK. No tears, but hugs and firm handshakes signified that I have two new friends "over there".

Bangkok here we come

Bangkok here we come.
    Today we made the long overland journey to Bangkok, Thailand. But first, we went for a ride to nowhere and back on a local tourist attraction, the bamboo railroad.  This is one of those, "you have to see it to believe it" deals, so I'm hoping to be able to up load pictures and maybe even a short video clip.

   After breakfast on the rooftop of our hotel, Star, we check out and loaded the van with all of our stuff. The hotel manager very graciously presented us each with a gift of a nice scarf.  Off we went for the short ride to the "train yard". Some background information is necessary here. This section of narrow gauge rail had been abandoned and the cars allowed to decay until the were totally useless.

But some ingenious locals conceived of a way to put this scattered and dismantled equipment to good use. They constructed the bamboo railroad for their own transportation between villages before it became a hit with tourists.  Constructing light weight platforms of bamboo which rode atop salvaged railroad car axles and wheels, they had something akin to the old hand cars one used to see in some old time movies. Except, these were not hand powered by pumping a lever. Instead there were powered by a small one cylinder engine attached to the drive axle by a v belt and pulley. To go faster the "engineer" pulls the pivoting engine towards him, tightening the belt. To slow down he loosens the belt. A wooden brake shoe provides a means to stop the contraption, we hope!
  It was a wild ride indeed! You won't find this at Disney! We all piled onto the flat bamboo platform and sat down. Seat belts? There weren't even any seats, just a small cushion atop a piece of carpet. I guess this is the closest I'll ever get to riding a flying carpet! There wasn't really much to hold onto either. And then there was the issue of what to do when you met another car coming the other way! No problem GI, we just stop and dismantle the car and let them through, then reassemble the contraption and take off again.  Not sure of the top speed of this thing but it sure seems fast when are that close to the ground.  In any case it was a blast and we were glad we did it.

  Back in the van we started the long and relatively uneventful trip to the Thai border.  Along the way we stopped to photograph a group of young monks, apparently blessing a family household or receiving a blessing, not sure exactly, but the line of orange robes made a nice picture.  Reaching the
border we went through passport control, said "soak so bai" to Cambodia and transported our bags to our new Thai vehicle.  This van was totally "tricked out" with a TV, stereo etc. But the best part for me was the reclining seats. Now we were zipping along on multiple-lane highways instead of the dusty and bumpy roads we had been on before. Stopping for lunch, several of us had fresh coconut water as our beverage. This is served by slicing the top off of what we would consider a "green" coconut. What little actual coconut "meat" that had formed inside we scraped out and ate with a spoon. The coconut "milk", as I have typically heard it referred to was nearly totally clear and not milky at all and we drank it through a straw.

  We hit Bangkok rush hour traffic for a bit, but soon were at the hotel. Everything in Thailand seems a bit bigger and more affluent than Cambodia, but I already miss some of the charm of the Cambodians, with their quick and easy smiles.  Here it is much more cosmopolitan. Many more westerners here.

  After a quick check-in at the hotel Viengtai, we meet in the lobby and walked through what seemed like an endless array of street food vendors, souvenir shops, outdoor foot massage salons, and restaurants to get to the river front just in time for sunset. Got a few nice shots, nothing spectacular but it was fun watching all the people. One section of the park seemed reserved for struggling street performers to practice juggling, break dancing, playing musical instruments, etc. In another area an
outdoor aerobics class was going on. There were people everywhere.

  On the walk back to he hotel, we stopped to take pictures of the traffic coming around a bend in the road in front of an impressive looking building. Wanted to get a tuktuk in the foreground. Tuktuks here seem to generally accommodate only two passengers but are more substantially built. These are not just carriages adapted to be hauled by a motorcycle. These are designed and constructed as three wheeled vehicles and most have a sign on top that says "taxi".

Battambang by boat.

  Departed hotel at 7:30. After a short 20 min trip to the port we said goodbye to our driver, who has been with us since Phnom Penh and boarded a small boat for the long trip to Battambang. Starting out across the Tonle Sap lake one begins to appreciate the close connection between these people and the water. All across the choppy, brown water are make shift buoy markers denoting fish trap locations. We pass several boats, some our size and many smaller, all heavily laden with a variety of goods. Entire families fill some of them and you realize that your looking at a floating home. Once out in the "middle " of the lake, the traffic thins a bit and I realize I can't see the other side of the lake. Nathan says this is the biggest lake in Southeast Asia. Let's see, we didn't get any kind of safety briefing like at home. Where are the life jackets? Oh, they're stored overhead.
  I'm surprised to find out that this small vessel has a toilet on board.    Going inside what would be considered a really small closet, it's hotter than the dickens because you are closed off from the breeze and right next to the engine. But there is the commode sans any kind of seat. Again, thank you Lord for making me a male. Right on target, but gotta hold the door shut with one hand.


  Not much to photograph now so I pull out "The Dark Side", non fiction about how the "war on terror" was used to basically abrogate our constitution. Scary stuff but fascinating reading. 

  Finally we reach the other side and the entrance to the river that leads to Battambang. Now there are tons to photograph. We pass floating villages, tons of people all plying the river in some way. Either
directly by fishing using a variety of means or transporting and selling merchandise. Kids swimming in that god awful looking water, young women shampooing their hair, they all stop and stare. I smile and lower my camera and they smile back. The kids wave and make the peace sign. It's wonderful. Again I'm amazed at how these people can be so happy with so little (in terms of material things). 

  At various points we are made acutely aware that this is the dry season and the river gets pretty low and narrow in spots. I might actually call it a large creek at times. Our "Captain" is obviously very proud of his association with the tour company, All Points East, through which I booked this trip, given he's wearing their t shirt and their emblem is in the boat.  He and his mate manage to get through every obstacle including clearing a prop fouled by a fishing net.

Our Captain

  Along the way we see a small boat with four or five people in it. Some discussion takes place between them and the Captain and their boat starts to follow us for a bit, pulls alongside and transfers this beaming young lady and her baby aboard our boat.  When I take this beautiful little girl's picture she breaks out in tears. Mom laughs and tries to console her. Even when I show her her picture, she won't stop crying. I apologize and soon mom has her calmed down. A few miles up stream we pull over to the river bank and let her and the baby off at their home. 

  More neat stuff to photograph. Elaborate bamboo rigs used for lifting large, rectangular fish nets form a great back drop, fishermen casting their nets, etc. I dont see anyone catching anything large, these all sardine sized fish.
  Finally we reach Battambang.  It has begun to rain, very unusual for this time of year. We have to navigate some very steep steps to get to our ground transport. Porters help with the luggage but I hoist my 40 lb camera back pack on my back and climb the stairs. Transferring to a van we are

whisked off to the hotel Star in town.  The room is ok and there are computers I can use to transfer files from my camera memory cards to the portable hard drive.  It's late already and after dinner I just want to read a bit and collapse.

Last Day in Siem Reap

  Today we had the morning "off". After breakfast I got on the Internet with my iPad and uploaded the text for the previous two days blog postings. Still couldn't upload any pictures as the iPad browser

doesn't have the necessary capability. Then Chris appeared and we chatted for quite some time during which he seemed fascinated with the operation of the iPad. I think I convinced him he needs one. It was nice sitting there by the pool and we had a few gin & tonics (for medicinal purposes only of course!). They are supposed to help ward off malaria. Than in the afternoon we made the trek out to another temple, Beng Mealea. This twelfth century temple has only been open to the public since 2007, when mine sweeping operations were completed in the surrounding area.

  The really interesting thing about this temple is that is almost in the exact "natural" state of disrepair as when "discovered" in the early 1900's. Except for the addition of a series of wooden boardwalks to

ease access, no actual reconstruction has been done. Anyway, you can pretty much climb all over the ruins to your heart's content, at your own risk, of course. Found some very nice, well preserved examples of the multi-headed cobra symbols at some of the temple gates.

After returning to Siem Reap, we had dinner at a French restaurant. I had a beef dish that was excellent. Went back to the hotel early and started organizing and packing for the early departure the next day.

As an aside, if you click on the  photos they appear in larger format.

Pics

A Special Day

  This morning started out relatively normal with breakfast at the hotel around 6:30. We were on the road by 7:30 to the temple Preah Khan (meaning sacred sword). It had some interesting features including a long corridor of successive doorways to a central shrine. There we found a 73 year old Buddhist nun keeping vigil over the shrine, a duty she performs on a daily basis.  She recognized Nathan and agreed to pose for us while performing her religious rituals. We got amazing pictures. I will upload a few of mine as soon as I can get to an Internet cafe or somewhere else that I can use a computer. After taking several shots we all went out into an open area where we made a donation to her shrine. She then individually tied a string bracelet around each of our wrists and said a blessing.
When the other tourists had taken their pictures she lead us to a tiny, almost secret shrine in the complex. Just she and the four of us (no outside tourists as in the previous setting). It was a fantastic

setting and the lighting coming in a small opening in the wall was perfect. After letting us take several pictures she again blessed each of us individually. As we bowed before her she said the blessing as she ran her hands along our sides from head to foot and at the last minute made a gesture similar to throwing something away. Perhaps that was to dispell any evil spirit. Later she asked to see our pictures. She seemed pleased but at the same time embarrassed because of her toothless smile. She was a real sweetheart.
  We took some other pictures in the temple. Particularly interesting was a structure that looked like a miniature Parthenon with round versus square or rectangular columns. Apparently this is very unusual for Khmer architecture.
  Departing Preah Khan., we drove to Ta Som another temple, with a huge and very distinctive tree root overgrowing a stone doorway. After taking some

pictures I purchased a book from a one armed man, a victim of the pervasive minefields left by the Khmer Rouge. This made him very happy.  Apparently there is no public assistance program for these folks and they earn a living any way the can.
  Heading back to the hotel, we had a couple of hours free before Nathan's Lightroom class. We ran out to one last temple to get some sunset shots before going out to dinner and watching (and photographing, of course) some local folk dances. For dinner we shared a morning glory salad and I had chicken curry, beer and a hot, sweet pumpkin soup with tapioca. My bill including tip was $9.

Wat I came for

Deb 9th -Wat I Came For
Up at 3:30 am, couldn't sleep anyway. 4:30 we are loading into our van and heading into the dark, moist morning. Insect repellent has been applied and we are checking camera settings. Temple passes! Chris doesn't have his so we circle back to the hotel. Fortunately we have only gone a few blocks. While he goes to get his pass I run to my room to get my laptop's power supply, which I suspect has failed. Hopefully we can find a replacement later today.
  Arriving at the entrance to Angkor Wat, it's still pitch dark, but there are a couple of tour buses there also and Nathan runs ahead to secure the best location for us on the edge of the reflecting pool. We   follow as quickly as possible, armed with our "torches" (flashlights to you colonists) to keep from stumbling on the undulating stones of the causeway leading to the recording pool. The authentic jungle sounds add to the mood of the place. Joining Nathan we set up our cameras on tripods and recheck camera settings per Nathan's suggestions. Auto ISO, fluorescent white balance, aperture full open and self timer to trigger the shutter. It is still nearly pitch dark, no moon. But by the starlight one can just make out the outline of the largest religious complex in the world, Angkor Wat!

  We now become aware of other folks arriving to photograph and are glad we got here we we did. We take a few shots in what appears to be nearly total darkness and are surprised at the detail, granted it's noisy, that we get.  Nathan demonstrates light painting on lotus blossoms in front of us as the light pollution from other arrivals begins to make it very difficult to get a clean shot of the scene.  The only thing you can do is keep shooting. As the sun starts to brighten the sky we stop down out lenses to get sharper images of the imposing silhouette. The air is permeated with sound of clicking shutters. Turning around for a second I'm amazed at the number of people and cameras
behind us.

  Finally the sun makes it's appearance, becoming a bright red globe as it rises above the temple. A few more shots and we take breakfast as the majority of the crowd disappears onto the temple grounds. I have chicken noodle soup at Nathan's suggestion. Very tasty.
  After breakfast we photograph folks cleaning the reflecting pool of algae. Showing the workers their pictures, they are visibly delighted and laugh at us, with us, I'm not sure.  The strategy has been to allow most of the crowd to enter the temple ahead of us and then

we would have a better chance of photographing without a bunch of tourists in the way.
  Nathan has arranged to have a couple of young monks to meet us and go into the temple where they would pose for our photos.  We set up photo shoots at a number of locations on site that he knows will work while and we shoot away. Of course we attract attention and some folks come over and take photos of "our" monks. In most cases they are not obnoxious about it and shoot from behind us. But one particularly obnoxious "frog" is tapping me on the shoulder because I am in the way of HIS shot. Deliberately, now, placing myself between him and the monks he starts yelling at me and Nathan comes over. They have few words and the guy leaves. Anyway we get some great shots, but it is really hot and the monks have been great. We make donations to each and bid them "adieu". Actually, we say "suk so dai". Not sure of the spelling but that is kind of the phonetic version of the Cambodian wish for your good health and good fortune. Then it's back to the hotel for a nice shower and a nap.
  At 3 pm we leave the hotel, pick up a couple of more monks and head out to the ancient city, Angkor Thom (meaning big city), once inhabited by over a million people in the 12th century and surrounded by a moat 8 miles in circumference.  Peggy gets in the back of the van with Nathan and the monks get in next to me because the are not supposed to have physical contact with a female  After several location shoots at Angkor Thom we move on to Bayon a temple central to Angkor Thom and the first state temple dedicated to the Buddha. More location shoots with our monk friends. Finally we stop once again at Ta Prohm, which we were at yesterday. Nathan has never shot this location with monks before and so we get some more great location shots. These guys have been great and I really enjoyed talking to them. One of them has family nearby and we drop them off there. We stop at a computer store to see if they have a replacement power supply for me, but no luck.
  Back at the hotel, quick shower (God knows we all needed it) and downtown for dinner. I elect to have pizza bolognaise. Not bad!  Then we all go for a foot massage. In no time Chris and I are snorring away and the Cambodians are having a good chuckle over it. back to the hotel. It's already 10:30. That bed looks wonderful!

On the road to Siem Reap

   Feb 8th at 7:30 am checked out of th Golden Gate Hotel in Phnom Penh and boarded our van for the long ride ot Siem Reap, gateway to Angkor Wat and many other temples in that area. Leaving the capitol we were quickly immersed in the quite poverty stricken rural area of Cambodia. Most of the homes, built on stilts persumably to avoid flooding during the rainy season were pretty mean structures. Still, in front of nearly every one there was at least a modest Buddhist shrine, many with some sort of offering. The atmosphere was filled with a dusty haze and along the road there were often small pools dank water with water lilies growing in them supporting beautiful lotus flowers. We passes several large school yards, with front yards that looked overrun with bicycles, presumably that's how the students get to school. In a separate area there was a collection of motor scooters, probably the teacher's parking lot.

  About two hours into the trip we stopped at a cross road town, Skun, famous for its fried spiders, a food choice impressed upon the local Cambodians during the reign of the Khmer Rouge, when food was so scarce that people were forced to eat pretty much anything that moved and could be captured,

just to get some form of protein. It seems the taste for fried spiders lingers on as the young ladies selling them have large piles of the crispy critters on tray atop their heads. And for those of you who must know, yes I tried one, here's the picture to prove it. It was spicy and crunchy, and probably the last spider I will eat!  Admittedly, I only ate some legs. The thought of eating the fat little body was too much, and I immediately bought a can of Coke to wash it
down. Then we spent some time photographing in the local market before continuing on our way. It's remarkable how everywhere we go the people are so friendly and seem pretty happy in spite of how little they have in the way of material possessions.

   We stopped for our real lunch at a nice restaurant on a small lake. We had chicken soup with pickled lemons in it, rice, fish and soybeans, chicken and ginger and an Angkor beer. Very nice and excellent service. The bill came to $14 US including the tip. Oh, and that was not per person, that was the total bill for all four of us!

  Finally arriving at our hotel, Casa Angkor, at around 3 pm we quickly checked in and then departed for the first of the area temples we would visit during out four night stay in Siem Reap, Ta Prohm. This temple is especially interesting because so little reconstruction has been done, so it is in kind of a ruined state.

Phnom Penh Day Two

   Right after breakfast the four of us, Nathan (our mentoring photographer), Peggy, Christopher and I jumped into a tuktuk and proceeded to the Royal Palace.  BTW I was wrong about the tuktuk, when I described it in a previous post. The motor cycle does have a rear tire that drives the vehicle. At the rear of the motor cycle they have mounted a knuckle joint like you see on some of these big pickup
trucks at home that haul these large horse trailers, a coupling something like on a tractor trailer rig. Anyway we arrived at the palace right at opening time to try to beat the hordes of tourists. You know, those folks that always seem to walk into your pictures just after you have lined up a really nice shot. So we had to work fast.

   One of the difficulties for me, photographing as site like this, is that it initially can be so overwhelming. The palace grounds are immense with many special buildings such as the coronation building and numerous elaborate
temples. I have found that what I really enjoy photographing is people (but not intrusive tourists), so I looked for people doing something on the palace grounds  I found this young man hosing down the tile floor in front of an ancient mural. I took several pictures and he finally turned and gave me a smile. A little later, as I was taking a series of shots of a stone stairway leading to a small
golden Buddha, this delightful little sprite in red came bounding down the steps and quickly disappeared.Then I discovered a couple of what looked like large bird baths with water and water lilies growing in them. This reflections in these mini-pools gave me a new perspective for photographing the surrounding temples.

  Exiting the palace we walked to a local market. What a hubbub of activity! People, food, clothing, every where. And folks were driving their motor scooters through the market proper. In fact many of them had shopping baskets full of food, etc, mounted on the front of their scooters. I was really impressed how friendly and patient everyone was. Most were not the least bit camera shy. And they would be delighted when you showed them their picture on the
LCD panel on the back of your camera.

  After the market, Nathan arranged for us to be transported back to his place in single passenger

bicycle cabs. You see these in New York now, but usually they can carry two passengers. At Nathan's he continued his photography presentation from the previous day. It has been perfect for me because the newer of my cameras, the Nikon D700, is one of the main cameras he uses so I have gotten a lot of good information and instruction on its use. And we got to spend a little time with his beautiful, little two and a half year old daughter, Amy. What a bundle of energy she is! After the presentation we broke for lunch and enjoyed more great Thai/Cambodian cuisine.

   After lunch we visited S21, a former school that was used by the Kymer Rouge, under Pol Pot to torture and eliminate tens of thousands of Cambodians who posed even the slightest possibility of being a threat to their regime. It very much reminded me of Auschwitz, with its haunting gallery of pictures of the victims. Fortunately that part of their history is behind them and the country has made great progress in the past thirty years.

  From there we went to the National Library to photograph this impressive structure as it was back lit

by the setting sun. And then to a delightful roof top bar for a glass of Angkor beer. Dinner was at a typical Cambodian restaurant, where the locals go, not a a place catering to westerners. Dinner consisted of a shrimp dish, beef, calamari, and rice. Excellent!

   Tomorrow is a early departure and a long car ride to Siemreap, gateway to Angkor Wat!

Phnom Penh Day One

   Had a great first day! Breakfast at the hotel. Normal fried eggs, toast, etc. Will try something more adventurous tomorrow.

   Then with a clash of cymbals and beating of drums my attention was drawn outside. My balcony faces the street so I threw open the sash and... oops, wrong story. I ran out on the balcony and saw this group of kids in gold and red uniforms riding on top of a truck and causing the commotion. They
stopped right in front of my hotel and started to offload all this equipment and costumes. It was obviously for some celebration or show. Maybe like a Chinese Opera. I remember a lot of the same kind of "music" during those in Taiwan, right down the street when I was trying to sleep!

When I saw the costumes it became apparent they were doing some kind of Dragon Dance, probably

in celebration of Chinese New Year. I took a few pictures and then wandered down the street to what appeared to be a local monastery, since it was going to be a while before the kids were set up for their show.  The monastery was a pleasantly quiet place with friendly looking folks. In the center was a large temple. I found the entrance but didn't go in as I wasn't sure of protocol and didn't want to offend or cause a commotion. I can't put all the pictures I took on this blog so will have to upload them to a Picasa Web Album that I will post a link to later.

   After wandering around a bit I was stopped by a monk and asked, in perfect English, where I was from and why I had come to Cambodia. I told him New York and his face lit up. Even after I
explained it was not New York City, he kept smiling and then I told him I was going to see Angkor Wat. He smiled and said he had been there many times. I think he was quite proud of it.

   About this time I headed back to the hotel to see and hear what was going on. A large crowd had gathered to see the show. It now became obvious that the fancy pilings the group had erected were going to be the performance platform. And what a show it was. I hope the following pictures gives you some idea of the dangerous feats these young men performed as each two man team made its "Dragon" jump and dance its way across the pilings and back. I don't even want to think about the consequences of a missed step!

After the show I went inside and met the pro photographer, Nathan Horton, who will be our instructor/leader on this trip and the other participants. But, since it is already past midnight here I will go into more detail on those subject tomorrow.

Phnom Penh Arrival

  Good landing, not greased on  like the one in Seoul, but still a nice touch down. I've seen worse. I've done a lot worse!  I still get sick thinking of the one I planted on the runway at JFK with the "Young Presidents" club on board. I really should have written that up as a "hard landing". But I digress.
  Filled out the customs form on the plane and already had my visa so was able to bypass that queue and was one of the first through immigration. Next the wait at the baggage carousel and ... lordy, lordy, there's my bag. OK. Now I head to customs and I see the guy is making people open bags and lift them and stuff. Damn. But he just takes my customs (nothing to declare) form and waves me through. I guess they only hassle their own.
  Walking out the exit I see a throng of people looking for relatives, friends, whatever. A few are holding signs with names on them. I desperately look for mine. Actually, that's a bit dramatic. I have faith in the guys that arranged my pick up. I mean it's a fellow tour operator and they're Brits to boot, so what could go wrong? Well, I reach the back of the crowd and don't see anyone, so I circle around back to front and find my driver. Yea!! He grabs my suitcase, I handle the camera "bag" and we walk out to the parking lot where he has a waiting taxi. On the way we pass a tour bus with "Apex Travel - Cambodia" on the side. Now is that a good omen or what?
  Shree ( think that's his name) drives me to the hotel. We chit chat a bit. Normal stuff, where I'm from. Been here before (I didn't go into any war stories). How long am I staying, etc. It's 11 pm and of course dark out but there are quite a few folks out and it's fun to see what is going on. Leaving the airport area in this taxi (A/C greatly appreciated as it's 80 degrees our and I'm not dressed for it)  I see someone who was on my flight. Slim, blond haired male wearing his sunglasses on top of his head is in a vehicle that looks like a small carriage that is powered by a motorcycle. Driver is mounted on the motorcycle seat and then directly behind him is the two wheeled carriage that looks like it could carry four small adults. The engine must drive the two rear wheels as there is no normal rear wheel that you have with just the motorcycle. In the carriage is Blondy and I would guess, his Cambodian girlfriend. Next we pass a motor scooter, like you might see in Italy. But this has four young Cambodian males (teens or so) all in tandem on it. Tail end Charlie is hanging on for dear life and they are all laughing and have a great time. Helmets? I don't think they know what they are, and, YIKES they are wearing flip flops.
  It seems like a long ride to the hotel. Didn't realize the size of the city. Finally arrive and get checked in. This is not the Ritz, but looks comfortable enough. Room has A/C, TV, Fridge with water and cans of Coke and private bath. Breakfast at 6:30 Here's a link if you want to see what the place looks like. http://www.goldengatehotels.com/  Some folks said they have been trying to leave comments but were not able. I will look into that and see if I can post a solution as you should be able to comment on the postings.
  Tomorrow I will get some pics and try to upload.

Seoul Layover

  Well, during the short layover at Seoul airport I was able to upload the posting I wrote on the first flight and check email, courtesy of the free airport wifi. Got news from "Daughter-in-the-Water" and her husband that there was fighting going on somewhere in Cambodia. Checked CNN and found out the Thais and
Cambodians are at it again over some thousand year old temple that's in dispute because it sits right on the border between the two countries.Supposedly artillery shells have been flying in both directions and there have been a few casualties. That's it boys, way to preserve a "world heritage" site! Doubt we will be near that particular site but will check with the pro leading this gaggle tomorrow.
  Second flight (Seoul to Phnom Penh) was aboard a 737. Many more"round eyes" on this one. Apparently a lot of Americans going to Cambodia. Noticed several college age kids as well as folks closer to my age. Was going to use a more colorful euphemism for us "seniors", but not sure who all is reading this.
  Food on this flight was more typical of airline food although the spicy beef was good. All packaging was in Korean so not sure what it all was. Side dish of something resembling a white custard had absolutely no flavor, so I opened the packet of sauce that came with it and put that on top. Not what I expected! The sauce was hot and spicy. Well, I guess that was NOT meant to be dessert!
  Always found it a bit disconcerting when I see people with surgical masks board a plane, or any where else for that matter.Wonder if they are contagious or just cautious. But that might just be an Asian thing, as you seem to see it a lot more in this part of the world. Kind of like Italians bundling up when it isn't even cold outside.
  This flight a little bumpier. Smaller plane and I seem to remember flying over the South China Sea and Gulf of Tonkin was always a little choppy. It's been a long time. I have a lot of memories of Phnom Penh airport from the days I used to fly for Uncle Sam's "no frills" airlines. Now I'll actually get to see more than just the airport.
  Well, it's going to be nearly 11 pm when I arrive in Phnom Penh and God only knows what time my body is going to think it is,so I'm going to get some shuteye. Will upload this after I arrive. Good night!

Let's fly Korean Air

The aircraft is a nice new Boeing 777-300.  God, something still made in the good, old USA! I find my way to seat 47D, on the aisle as requested, lift my 40 pound backpack (yes, I made it on board with my overweight "carry on") into the overhead. Nice to see there are power outlets at each seat, 'cause my iPhone is down to 50% and I want to use the iPad too on this long trip. 
  At first I look around and think I must be the only "round eye" on the flight, then some other Caucasians get on. I didn't really care but it was just interesting. Turns out there is an empty seat between me and the guy in the other aisle seat in this center section row.  Great! Someplace to put some of my stuff. In typical Asian style he doesn't put anything in the empty seat. Ok.
  Now, two hours into the flight and we get lunch. The pretty stew asks me if I want to have something I didn't understand or something else that I didn't understand. I took the first one. Then she handed me the instructions for this kind of do it yourself deal called Bibimbap. There's this bowl containing a little meat, mushrooms, and thinly sliced veggies. Following the instructions I add steamed rice to this. Had to stab the rice package with my real stainless fork 'cause I couldn't get it open. Hope no one was watching! Next comes the gochujang (Korean hot pepper paste) squeezed from what looks like a toothpaste tube, then add the sesame oil and mix it all up. Yum! It's actually pretty tasty!! Sides of cucumber and a clear soup with spinach in it. Fruit (melon & pineapple) for dessert and finished off with some hot, green tea.  First time I think I have eaten on an airplane and felt good about it!
  I've been plugged into my iPhone listening to music while doing this. Gotta stop humming and groovin', people are starting to look. No Internet on the plane so hoping to have time to up load this in Seoul.
Made it to Seoul. Great flight. Very smooth. That was the best landing I ever sat through.

D-Day (Departure Day)

So, I left New Hartford at 4:00 am (o dark thirty in military parlance)and arrived ay JFK around 10. Trip was smooth until I hit Tappan Zee bridge. Congestion was so bad that I jumped on Palasaides Parkay to GW bridge. Smooth sailing again until Whitestone bridge which was down to one lane. After bridge good again vbut the I678 was jammed by some idiot that couldn't keep from hitting something. Jumped off the interstate and took 130th St down to JFK Parkway thanks to GPS on the iPhone. I checked in with Korean Air and then dropped off the rental.
Made it thru security. Of course they checked my backpack/camera case. Expected that. Just hate to have anyone handle it and realize how damn heavy it is. Have to learn to stop grimacing when I pick it up before I get to the gate.
So here I sit in terminal one enjoying a Mexican Panini and a Sam Adams. I have a feeling this flight is not full and hope to get some sleep. Boarding at 12:10 for 12:40 departure. Then in a short 21 hours I should be in Cambodia. For those who are tempted to call me, remember it is 12 hours different.
More later.

Let's Get Packing!

   Since this is a once in a life time work shop, my first concern was to make sure I have all the photo gear I will need. So here it is. Two camera bodies, an 18-200mm zoom (great for walking around town), 24-70 mm (love this for portraits), 70-200 mm for the long shots and a 60 mm micro for the close ups. Then there is the auxiliary stuff like a flash, filters, tripod, etc. And that is all going on my

back? Of course the laptop and its bulky power supply don't lighten the load.

Next came my new Scottevest. I've been anxious to try this out. Believe it or not I am carrying my iPhone, iPad, a couple of magazines, a paperback book, point and shoot camera, meds, gum, meal bars, pen, passport, money, and stuff I even forgot about in this thing. And I'm wired for sound with the iPhone ear buds having a built in wiring harness. Hope I don't have any problems getting through security.

Well, gotta get to bed. It's an early one tomorrow for the drive to JFK.

Come ci si va? How do I get there?

   Well, you can't just fly from upstate New York to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Oh, you can if you fly from Syracuse or Albany to JFK or some other major hub, but I don't trust these regional airports. I've been burnt too often in the past with cancelled connecting flights which resulted in lost travel days. So I booked my flight from JFK to Phnom Penh via Korean Airlines. I will be departing JFK On Friday Feb 4 at 12:40 pm on Korean Airlines flight 82. Land in Seoul Korea at 4:50 pm on the 5th and then depart on KA 689 two hours later. Final arrival at Phnom Penh airport is scheduled for 10:40 pm on the 5th. That's a total  of 20 hours of travel time getting there. Boy, am I going to find out if my iPad battery really lasts for 10 hours! Hopefully there will be WiFi at Seoul airport and I can update this blog en route.
   The other big issue for me is getting to JFK, my least favorite international airport. There is nothing wrong with the airport per se, it's getting there that is the problem. I have seen it take 3 hours to get from the Whitestone bridge to JFK, that's how bad the traffic can be. Then there is the cost of parking your car. Long term parking is $18 per day and I will be gone 12 days. So I am considering a rental vehicle down and taking Amtrak back home. The rental down is about $100 but coming back here from JFK, they want $170. Bye bye savings on the parking. The train is only $45 each way but there is no train early enough on the 4th to make my flight to Seoul. I'll have to finalize those plans next week.
   Got my visa as you can see above. This was really cool. I did it over the internet. Uploaded my "passport" picture taken for free by AAA (advantage of being a "PLUS" member), filled out the application and charged the $25 fee to my visa. One day later I get a pdf file with my e-visa. And you thought I was going to a thrid world country!
   OK. Back to work. More later.

How this all went down

   Initially, my wife, Evelyn, and I were going to visit a friend, Lam, who is a principal at a high school in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon). Lam is a world traveler and has been to the US many times, bringing high school students to Utica College, some of whom have enrolled at UC for their college education. Needless to say, we were thrilled when she invited us to visit her country. But, alas Evelyn's knees began to really bother her and the thought of a 20+ hour air plane ride was not looking inviting.
   At this point I became aware of a photo trek Pop Photo magazine was running to Viet Nam and Cambodia. Having taken their photo trek to Egypt in the fall of 2009, I was anxious to go again with these folks as the Egypt trek had been fantastic. Unfortunately, the trip was already booked up and though they put me on a waiting list, I decided to look for other options. Googling "photo workshops" I came across a British company, "All Points East", that had a photo trip to Cambodia during the month of February, which was pretty much the only time I could go, because of work conflicts later in the year.
   I know, you are probably wondering how I could leave Ev with her knee issues, and quite honestly I almost cancelled out on the trip, but then she told me she was going to Grand Cayman with friends from work in March. And when I brought up going on this trip she just said, "Go!". I think she meant on the trip! So here I am departing for Cambodia Friday February 4 on Korean Air (glad to say it is not flight 007!).
  BTW - here are the links to the websites of All Points East and Nathan Horton, the photographer who lives in Phnom Penh and who will be leading this workshop. www.allpointseast.com and www.nathanhortonphotography.com
  Can't wait to see Angkor Wat!! What you say?? Just kidding, couldn't resist. I have this really corny sense of humor.