11May, 2006

0820 Breakfast a Le Gran Cafe.
0900 Meet my driver Buntern, check out of the hotel, load car and go. He has his mother and younger brother with him for the ride back to Osmach.
1010 Stop at Banteay Srei for a quick walk around and photo recon.
1020 Back on the road.
1213 Arrived Anlong Veng. Stop for lunch.
1240 Arrived at Ta Mok's house. This time I find out in advance what I'm looking at. Ta Mok was the Brother Number 5 of the Khmer Rouge and currently in prison awaiting trail. This whole area was where the Khmer Rouge originated and was a hold out, fighting on until 1998 when Pol Pot died. The lake with the drowned trees gives a surreal scene. The Dangrek range and Thailand can be seen in the distance. It’s calm and peaceful not too many people around except for a group of small girls playing. I can't but wonder if they are descendents of the Khmer rouge leaders. They play and seem happy and I get some shots of them, which are the kinds of shots I'm trying for. More of people and less of ancient stone temples. Even though the temples are worthy subjects I want to strike more of a balance.
1255 Depart Anlong Veng.
1420 Arrive Osmach border crossing.
1445 Meet Kang. Have her get all her friends out of the casino.
1535 Cross border into Thailand head for Surin.
1635 Stop for dinner at the lake.
1805 Back home in Surin after having taken 1151 digital photographs and 7 rolls of infrared.

10 May, 2006

0400 Alarm rings.
0430 Driver 'Vuth' picks me up.
0450 Enter grounds. Get passed by 7 tuk tuks full of tourist heading to the sunrise at Angkor. Wonder why my driver is so slow.
0505 Arrived Phnom Bakheng. Start climbing the hill in the dark amid lightning and thundery skies. I dimly make out a sign that says "Beware of elephants". Then I see what appear to be eyes on the trail ahead, but it turns out to be a sign that says "No running up the hill" and I think sheesh who’s going to run up this hill. It's steep going with lots of rocks and big tree roots. Halfway I meet a Cambodian guy on his way up too and we joke about running up.
0515 Arrived at the top of Phnom Bakheng an early 10th Century temple dedicated to Yasodharesvara 'The Lord of the one who bears glory'. Views from the top are magnificent. I set up my camera and tripod and wait for sunrise.
0526 Began taking photographs.
0542 Sunrise.
0716 Complete photography and head to Angkor Wat.
0731 Begin photography at Angkor Wat.
0956 Complete photography and head for Hotel and a nap.
1210 Go to the Gran Cafe for breakfast and after, another massage. Later go for a walk along the river and take some infrared shots.
1730 Dinner at Le Tigre Papier. Bed early.

09 May, 2006

0715 Breakfast of "Saigon kick start" coffee, croissant and mango at the Soup Dragon.
0805 Meet tuk tuk driver at the hotel. Load camera gear and head to main gate.
0825 Pay $40. entrance fee for 3 day visit. Head to Ta Prohm.
0905 Arrive east gate Ta Prohm. Negotiate through the post card and book vendors and agree to meet my driver at the west gate. On the way in I notice some children chanting by the side of the path. I stop and take a few shots and they disappear into the jungle. A guy approaches me and asks if i want to see the Buddha’s face in the tree about 300 meters away. He explains that between gate to gate is 600 meters and we are near the middle. He seems knowledgeable so I agree.
0924 Arrive North gate. Take my shots. A monkee with a chain around his neck comes down the trail. He seems agitated with my guide and starts chasing him and biting him. I become a little concerned that he is going to come after me next. The monkey’s master arrives and the monkey flees to the top of the gate. After awhile he is coaxed down with some cucumber and captured. I learn later that my guide had previously been hitting the monkey with a stick and it was pay back time. I end up buying a local 2-string violin that is made of hard wood, bone and snake skin.
0948 I head off to the sanctuary.
1004 Arrive at the Ta Prohm sanctuary. An early 12th-mid 13th century Buddhist temple dedicated to King Jayavarman's VII mother in the Bayon style. This temple has been left largely intact with out restoration, though now some work is in progress. Shrouded in jungle with giant trees and roots growing over the ruins, it gives an idea of what he early explorers must have encountered. I stay about 3 hours photographing the temple in both digital and infrared film. I do the customary donations to the nuns and give a prayer and receive a blessing. One guide takes me around and shows me exactly where to stand and what shot to take. It seems that so many tourists have done this exact same thing and taken these exact same shots and many more will follow. It all seems automatic but there is no denying the sereneness of this place.
1339 Arrive Kravan temple (10th century, Hindu, Vishnu) and stay about 20 minutes photographing before heading back to the hotel. I have another massage then an early dinner at Le Gran Cafe. This was one of the best meals I've ever eaten. The first course was a green papaya salad with grapefruit pulp and shrimp, followed by Duck Marget (liver) with pasta and mushroom sauce and a cream brule for desert. Back to the room to get ready for a 0400 wake up.

Cambodia Log 08 May, 2006

08 May, 2006
1025 Depart House in Surin Thailand. I leave a day early on the request of my Cambodian connection, declaring it to be a more auspicious day to travel.
1130 Arrive Kap Choeng at the Thai border. Meet Heang my Cambodian connection and cross the border to Osmach, Oddar Meanchey province on the Cambodian side. Fill out paperwork and pay 1,000. Baht for visa, cross street and fill out departure card and stamp Into Cambodia. Meet my driver Buntern, load vehicle a white Toyota Camry that is slightly jacked up with larger tires to handle the Cambodian roads. These seem to be the major type of car In Cambodia.
1210 Depart Osmach and descend the Dangrek range Into the basin of the great lake passing the Halo de-mining Camp at Opak. The road Is dirt and has some wash boarding and occasional potholes but not too bad. Average speeds are between 60-80 kph. There are many small huts and farms, scrub brush, medium sized trees and tall grass. This area was heavily mined and is recently being recovered with efforts by the Halo Trust, http://www.halotrust.org/introduction.html and Zoa Refugee Care, http://www.zoaweb.org/Page/sp908/Index.html.
1300 Arrive Anlong Veng. We stop and Buntern points out a lake with dead trees sticking out. An eerie sight to be sure but I’m not sure what he means, as he speaks no English or Thai. I take it to be connected with the Khmer Rouge. I take some infrared shots with my EOS 1 but not sure how they will turn out as I had the ASA set at 25. After Anlong Veng the road turns south and more of the same scrub brush and huts with subsistence farming.
1500 Pass Phnom Kulen the sacred mountain where the road becomes paved.
1530 Pass Banteay Srei temple.
1615 Arrive Siem Reap. Check into Chao Say Guesthouse for $15. a night with air conditioning and right across the street from the Psar Chaa market. I shower then stroll around town. I find a massage place opt for a 1-hr 4-hand (2 ladies) massage for $10. Just a bit pricier than the equivalent 2hr Thai massages at $2.60 an hr. Later in the evening I have a marvelous Steak dinner with a blue cheese and a mustard sauce at Tigre de Papier restaurant/bar. I wash it all down with a large bottle of Angkor beer while watching the people go by.
2035 I go back to the Hotel and turn in.

Arrival in the hot season

I arrived in the hot season and truly it was hot. The city was sweltering and embroiled In political turmoil. The country was split and massive demonstrations were taking place in the city. We only stayed In Bangkok for 5 days and managed to avoid the crowds and any entanglements. The situation has now resolved with Prime Minister ThaksIn leaving office amid accusations of corruption and abusing political office for financial gains. Though It Is rumored he Is still pulling political strings behind the scenes his party Is still In power and enjoys the popularity of the poor. It has now been nearly 2 months and I have acclimatized and some have said gone native. The other day I ate fried scorpions. Big black ones that were quite crunchy and not at all bad. It did take some courage to down them though and some cold beer was the proper lubricant.
There are lots of Insects here, most notably the ant and the mosquito. The ants coming in various sizes are more of a nuisance and besides the occasional bite or taking over the kitchen they seem to be quite harmless. I on the other hand regard mosquitoes as being potentially dangerous blood sucking critters. Besides they itch. I have declared total war on the pests and attack and kill them whenever I make contact with the foe. My main defense is a large bug zapper in the living room and the handy tennis racquet type bug swatters, which I keep in every room. Ah life In the tropics.