Happy Mother's Day (Khmer mother and daughter, shot in Cambodia)
Your arms were always open when I needed a hug. Your heart understood when I needed a friend. Your gentle eyes were stern when I needed a lesson. Your strength and love has guided me and gave me wings to fly.
To all mom, a Happy Mother’s day. Big thanks for all your unfailing sacrifices and the unconditional love you’ve been giving us!
五月的康乃馨，没有雍容华贵的姿态，没有浓香四溢的味道，只是平平淡淡的样子，就如日夜操劳、毫无怨言的母亲。
祝全天下妈妈,母亲节快乐!
black and white Angkor Wat
After Ta Prohm Temple, we headed to the symbol of Cambodia, Angkor Wat. The daily pass we purchased before granted us the access Angkor Wat, checked by security certainly. Most people will have heard of the famous Angkor Wat, in fact it is only one of the many buildings of an ancient civilization.
Some background of Angkor Wat,
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. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation – first Hindu, dedicated to the god Vishnu, then Buddhist. It is the world’s largest religious building.
The temple is at the top of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. It has become a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag, and it is the country’s prime attraction for visitors.
Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple mountain and the later galleried temple, based on early South Indian Hindu architecture, with key features such as the Jagati. It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the devas in Hindu mythology: within a moat and an outer wall 3.6 kilometres long are three rectangular galleries, each raised above the next. At the centre of the temple stands a quincunx of towers.
Unlike most Angkorian temples, Angkor Wat is oriented to the west; scholars are divided as to the significance of this. The temple is admired for the grandeur and harmony of the architecture, its extensive bas-reliefs and for the numerous devatas (guardian spirits) adorning its walls.
The modern name, Angkor Wat, means “City Temple”; Angkor is a vernacular form of the word nokor which comes from the Sanskrit word nagara meaning capital or city. Wat is the Khmer word for temple. Prior to this time the temple was known as Preah Pisnulok, after the posthumous title of its founder, Suryavarman II.
innocent kid at the entrance of Angkor Wat
Back to our journey.
Everyone was excited at the entrance of Angkor Wat when we saw Angkor Wat through the windows of the bus. As soon as the bus stopped, we jumped off the bus and rushed to the entrance. Many children approached us and trying to sell us some stuff such as souvenirs, food, books etc.
It was noon and Angkor Wat was so crowded with foreigners and even locals. We would have tens of people blocking the view everywhere we tried take photos. Nevertheless, it was alright for me because I wished to snap photos of unique and interesting people.
From the entrance, there is a long causeway connects to the gate of the temple. I took a long walk over the huge water reservoir and moat surrounding Angkor Wat and reached the gate.
There were a few couples wearing traditional Khmer wedding costumes and had their wedding photos taken with the magnificent background. This is probably a good place for couples to have their wedding albums beautifully done.
There I started to take shots of the interesting people, including wedding couples, and an old man who seemed like a fortune teller, and monks who were not as many as I expected. Then I set my way towards the temple it had take a long walk again from the gate to the main temple. On my way before reaching the doorstep of the main temple, I met many adorable children and again I had their photos captured.
Standing in front of the main temple, whole place just looked amazing. However the weather on the day was not that good. It was windy and some drizzling. The best time to go to Angkor Wat would be dawn when the sun is rising from the back of the temple, and when the weather is fine and calm. In that case, we would probably get a perfect silhouette of Angkor Wat stands against the orangish sky while its reflection is mirrored in similarly beautiful orangish water. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen that way.
As I continued walking towards the central complex, I found many statues and many of those were headless, due to pillaging and looting. Making my way through the passageway and steps to the central complex, I snapped photos of many wall-carving which are similar to those in Ta Prohm Temple, such as the devatas (minor female deities). Surprisingly many of the bas-reliefs had well stood through the test of time and remained beautiful, despite centuries of wear and tear and invasions from tourists and looters.
bas-reliefs everywhere
After minutes of walk, I found my myself to be at the central complex, where I could see the lotus-like-towers. The steps to the top of the towers are small steps, less than half of my foot, and steep, the height of each step is longer than its tread. I decided to climb up the tower to have a better view of the whole compound, but time was running out. We were given only 45 minutes to tour Angkor Wat which I only had couples of minutes left when I reach the the central complex. I knew it would take some times to walk out the temple and I had leave then.
I took a few last shots of the locals praying there and quickly made my way to the bus. Forty-five minutes would never be enough for Angkor Wat. Not to mention people who want to know every piece of its stories and take wonderful photos. It would be worthy to spend at least 3 days in Siem Reap and visit temples of Angkor numerous times and different times of the day.
locals praying for blessing
Our exploration to Siem Reap was such a short time, half a day to visit the town, Ta Prohm Temple and Angkor Wat. However, we were glad we made it and hope to see the place again. I believe there will be surprises each time we go back.
So there we were, and continued the trip to the capital city of Cambodia, Phnom Penh in a long bus journey. Goodbye, Siem Reap!
Sharing more shots after the click. May all beings be happy.
trees growing on Ta Prohm Temple
First thing we did after arriving in Siem Reap and had our breakfast in town was to go to Ta Prohm Temple, which known for the trees growing on it, and that Tomb Raider by Angelina Jolie was filmed at. We have to thank Miss Chong from our trip who made the arrangement to Ta Prohm Temple and Angkor Wat, which initially were not included in the tour. We are glad that we were able to make out there, as a trip to Cambodia without Angkor Wat would be disappointing.
visitors making their way through the jungle the the temple
It took about 30 minutes bus ride from town to Angkor. Before we entered the area, we stopped at the ticket booth. Each of us had to have our individual photo taken and printed on the pass. This procedure is to avoid people from sharing or transferring their passes.
The passes we purchased got us access to all of the Angkor temples and they were not exactly cheap, however they were worth it. After gotten our passes, we proceeded to first destination, Ta Prohm Temple.
A brief history of Ta Prohm Temple from the web,
Ta Prohm is the modern name of a temple at Angkor, Siem Reap Province, Cambodia, built in the Bayon style largely in the late 12th and early 13th centuries and originally called Rajavihara. Located approximately one kilometre east of Angkor Thom and on the southern edge of the East Baray, it was founded by the Khmer King Jayavarman VII as a Mahayana Buddhist monastery and university.
Unlike most Angkorian temples, Ta Prohm has been left in much the same condition in which it was found: the photogenic and atmospheric combination of trees growing out of the ruins and the jungle surroundings have made it one of Angkor’s most popular temples with visitors.
The temple of Ta Prohm was used as a location in the film Tomb Raider. Although the film took visual liberties with other Angkorian temples, its scenes of Ta Prohm were quite faithful to the temple’s actual appearance, and made use of its eerie qualities.
Ta Prohm is the only temple that has not been restored, but left just as it was found. The courtyards, walls and roofs of Ta Prohm have been repaired to prevent further deterioration and the inner area has been unclogged of dense bush and jungle vegetation.
serene Buddha statue
Our guide told us that we had only 45 minutes to visit Ta Prohm Temple because we had to visit Angkor Wat then Phnom Penh. We knew it was insufficient to explore the whole temple in that time frame, therefore we had to take a cook’s tour.
Bus stopped in front of Ta Prohm Temple with Buddha face tower as the gate entrance. That morning, the place was crowded with visitors.
When walking from the gate to the temple, we went into the jungle through a slippery muddy walkway after a rain. We saw some landmine victims’ music instruments performance and raised landmine awareness on our way. We took a few shots and quickly headed to the temple not far from the front.
Arrived at the front the temple, we were like wow, we were finally here at the Tomb Raider Temple, old and magical temple! The outlook of the whole temple was magnificent and we were wondering how people could build such a place centuries ago.
We entered the temple separately and each of us made our own exploration of the place.
As I walked inside, I saw more temple ruins and wall-carving, featuring stone reliefs of devatas (minor female deities), meditating monks or ascetics, and dvarapalas or temple guardians. However, parts of the structure had collapsed and some part of the ruins were close for repair work.
The temple is famous of overrun by very large and old trees. I saw tree roots that engulf the structures were very interesting to behold.
Soon as I was taking shots of the large tree, I noticed that visitors around were unfamiliar faces. I knew time was up and most friends had hopped back into the bus.
I made my way out of the temple unreluctantly and just before I left the temple, I met an old Khmer lady sitting in the ruins offering blessing and incense for burning. First thought came into my mind was to take her portrait shot. Having her consent, I took the first portrait of a Cambodian, which turned out to be one of my collection of Cambodian faces. I started to seek for unique faces from this trip.
old lady at Ta Prohm
I was the last to get into the bus yet was in time. We then departed to Angkor Wat.
45 minutes was just too short to tour Ta Prohm especially for people who want to explore and snap photos. Knowing that early morning is the best time to visit Ta Prohm: less visitors and dawn mystical atmosphere will intensify the experience, I just know that I have to be there again!
May all beings be happy. Sharing some shots which I took after the jump:
Khmer mother
爱已经存在在某个角落，是你从不留意的角落。我们是否从不稀罕人家对我的善意，我们甚至会猜想他们是否对我们有企图心。
可是有一种爱，你可以不用怀疑，那就是母亲的爱。打从我降生在这个世界上，当我张开小小的眼睛，我愣住一个人的样貌，她是多么亲切、熟悉的脸孔。
从那时，我开始领悟，我的生活不能缺乏母亲。她负责照料三餐，每一日做家务，把家里打理得井井有条。
母亲是一把雨伞，为我阻挡暴风雨。犹记小学时在学校被人欺负、被老师责骂，第一个想求助的人是母亲，心里极想快点放学回家，跟母亲倾诉我的苦处，抱著她的大腿稀里哗啦的哭。
十几年后，我渐渐长大，发现母亲的身躯越来越矮小。以前我们一起结伴同行，如今我的步伐待调整。我不能走得太快，否则她会落后，跟不上我的脚步。当我停下来，望著母亲年迈的脸孔以及矮小的身躯。我才领悟，岁月神偷已毫不留情地夺走了她最宝贵的青春。
身为儿女的我们，还有多少年日和机会报答母亲的恩情呢？我唯有祈祷上帝，利用我在世的年日，好好疼惜你，孝顺你这辈子。
[文：雄猫眼，刊登于星洲日报副刊]
faces of Cambodia
Sua s‘dei! (hello in Khmer) Early of April, I was on a 3-day and 2-night tour in Cambodia with friends. I knew three days would be too short to explore the tranquil beauty of the land of most magnificent temples in the world. So I’d decided to take as many photos as possible. The trip had turned to a training ground for photography.
Most friends on this trip including I had not been to Cambodia, so we knew next to nothing of the country. On our arrival in Siem Reap, we were so excited and anticipated of what was to come. As for my first impression when we arrived, Cambodia would be similar to Thailand of its architecture, culture and art, until I studied the distinctiveness of the country and people on the three days exploration.
Well, I have to spare more time to do the photos and writings these days. Let’s have a quick through of our packed itinerary:
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
May all beings be happy. Sharing some shots of the arrival in Siem Reap.
took AirAsia flight from Kuala Lumpur to Siem Reap
"Pray for Japan from Cambodia"
welcome! immigration clearance..
legal liquor advertising
barefooted Khmer kid
Khmer breakfast
bike
Khmer wording, probably saying smoking kills
Hi! I am CJ, blogger of Juesatta and photographer of CJ Photography.
I love and enjoy photography, thus make me a lifestyle wedding photojournalist and portrait photographer based in Melaka, a lovely town full of history and characters in Malaysia.
Wedding is the sweetest thing of one’s life because it celebrates love, therefore I have always been passionate for capturing beautiful, natural and romantic wedding day images of moments for couples to be cherished a lifetime.
Drop me an email cj@cjfen.com and will be great to hear from you!
