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!