Another monk portrait
Here’s another from the archive, taken in Phnom Penh in January of this year. I should really have included it in this post, as I think they make quite a nice double act.
Old favourites
I’ve just updated the homepage of this site, so that it now only shows pictures taken since I came back to south-east Asia, and started this blog, in October last year.
This post features the pictures that have been bumped off the homepage. I’m posting them here because I didn’t want them to disappear from the site altogether. They were all taken in Vietnam and Cambodia during 2010.
Old fellas
(Hanoi, January 2010; Hanoi, January 2010; Phnom Penh, February 2010)
KH CAT B TONG
These stencils, advertising the services of local handymen / labourers, can be seen on walls all over Hanoi and Saigon.
(Saigon, February 2010)
Long Bien fisherman
Grey April days in Hanoi are perfect for black and white photography.
(Long Bien bridge, Hanoi, April 2010)
Long Bien kids
(Long Bien bridge, Hanoi, April 2010)
Looking askance
Something about this shot of Flower Hmong women reminds me of an early 80s Abba video.
(Bac Ha, July 2010)
Women in red
The middle shot here is one of my favourites.
(Ta Van; Bac Ha; Ta Van, all July 2010)
Blue lady
(Sapa, July 2010)
Hmong market trader
(Sapa, July 2010)
(Le Mat, Hanoi, August 2010)
Hoi An boatman
It’s all about the blue.
(Hoi An, September 2010)
Hoi An farmer
(Hoi An, September 2010)
He loves Hanoi
Taken during the celebrations for Hanoi’s 1000 year anniversary.
(Hanoi, October 2010)
(Hanoi, October 2010)
Young fisherman
(Kampot, December 2010)
Phnom Penh ferry ride
(Phnom Penh, December 2010)
Three monks
(Phnom Penh, December 2010; Lolei, Angkor, February 2010; Kampot, December 2010)
Orange
(Phnom Penh, December 2010)
Wat Langka monks
(Phnom Penh, December 2010)
The little differences
Two days in two of south-east Asia’s capital cities, two months apart. In January, I passed through Phnom Penh on my way back from my Mekong trip. Last weekend, I went back to my old home of Hanoi for the first time in more than a year. I didn’t take that many pictures on either occasion – in Phnom Penh, I was winding down after two weeks away, and in Hanoi I had some important drinking to do. I got a few shots that I like though, and I thought they might make a nice ‘compare and contrast’ exercise. Forgive me, I’m an English teacher. Phnom Penh is in colour and Hanoi is in black and white.
Bamboo bridge, Kompong Cham
The bamboo bridge in Kompong Cham only exists for half the year. In the wet season it’s destroyed by the rising waters of the Mekong, and then built again from scratch once the rains have stopped in December. This happens every year. I’m going to have to go back to Kompong Cham one December, just so that I can see it being built. The bridge stretches from the town, on the west bank of the Mekong, to the island of Koh Paen in the middle of the river. It’s completely dwarfed by, and rendered almost ludicrous by, the massive new road bridge that arcs over the river’s entire width.
The strangest thing about the bamboo bridge is that you can hear it from a distance. The bamboo poles rattle and creak as pedestrians, bicycles, motorbikes, cars and – alarmingly – great big SUVs travel over it. I chose to cycle over, which was fine so long as I didn’t look left or right, or stop to consider what the hell I was doing. The sound of the bridge is even louder once you are actually on it of course, and you can also feel it moving underneath your wheels, especially when being overtaken by a great big SUV. These vehicles are almost as wide as the bridge itself and, as in all countries of the world, are driven by those blissfully unaware of the existence of other people, so you have to be careful as they pass not to topple over into the water, or impale yourself on bamboo.
Cycling over the bamboo bridge is the sort of experience that I might have avoided in the past, due to my esssential wussiness, but I’m very glad I did it. My only regret is that I made the return journey too soon, and was in the wrong place for sunset. That picture will have to wait for my next visit, but here are some others to be going on with, starting with some morning silhouettes.
Mekong days, Cambodia
After a week in the Mekong Delta in the south of Vietnam, I crossed the border into Cambodia for a slightly different taste of Mekong life, in the riverside towns of Kompong Cham and Kratie, north east of Phnom Penh. One day, I want to travel the length of the Mekong, from southern China all the way down to the delta, with unlimited time and unlimited memory cards. One day. In the meantime, I’ll have to content myself with occasional short trips like this one, in January this year.
Looking at these pictures again today has made me recall some of the other sensations and impressions of the trip that I couldn’t capture on camera: being sunburnt enough to feel a tingle but not so much to hurt; the smell of tobacco plants producing puzzling nostalgic cigarette cravings; long, uncomfortable, oddly enjoyable bus journeys with Khmer pop drowning out the music from my iPod; the pleasant ache in limbs unaccustomed to cycling; happily cancelling out the benefits of said cycling with giant bottles of Angkor beer; confirming my belief that three days in one place is far better than two; unwittingly providing the entertainment by losing my footing in a fishmarket.
Monk portrait, Phnom Penh (potw #16)
Phnom Penh was the last stop on my Mekong trip. I didn’t take that many pictures on this visit; I was only there for a couple of nights, and I wasn’t quite in the mood for a big city, having spent the previous two weeks in quieter, more relaxing surroundings.
Wat Langka, however, is one of the more tranquil spots in Phnom Penh. It’s not the most spectacular temple in Cambodia, but I like its calm, welcoming atmosphere. It’s hard to tell where the surrounding alleyways end and the temple complex begins. This young monk was standing inside one of the side doors to the main temple, and was perfectly, indirectly lit by the morning sunshine outside.
Afternoon in Kompong Cham (potw #15)
Making a rare foray into the realms of physical exercise, I cycled across Kompong Cham’s bamboo bridge (more of which later) onto Koh Paen, a small island in the Mekong river. Countless small children called “hello!” as I rattled inelegantly past stilt houses and rice fields in the late afternoon sun. Many of the rice fields in this part of Cambodia are overlooked by small, open pagodas, as in the picture above.
