07.03.07
Posted in Landscape, People, Travel at 9:00 am by Warren Williams
To start the morning off, took a motorcycle ride with my driver, Sou Sok Heng, to the great Tonle Sap lake. As it was the end of the dry season, the lake was 17km away from Siem Reap, however a month or two later, the lake grows from 2700 square km to an amazing 16,000 sq km. The floating village moves throughout the year depending how close their water source is. The boat trip I took was well over-priced from a tourist checkpoint along the main road. The cost was US$20 for 2 hours. Although I’m sure it would have been much cheaper if I wasn’t travelling alone everywhere I go.
Not sure what I was going to encounter, and knowing we’d be going on a bumpy road, I took my old 20D camera out, leaving my 1D back in the guesthouse. The new 24-105L lens continued to excel also, providing a great focal range, as well as macro abilities, as already shown in previous posts.
Looking hungry…
A limbless beggar boy, in a tin cup
On the way to school
After some slight disappointment on this trip, Sou Sok gave me the keys to his motorcycle to ride the bumpy 17km back to Siem Reap. Now that was some fun, zipping left and right to avoid the pot holes, wandering dogs, and speeding buses.
Siem Reap Riverside Guesthouse before I left
Permalink
07.02.07
Posted in Landscape, Travel at 7:30 pm by Warren Williams
My final night evening in Siem Reap, went along to another popular tourist spot, Phnom Bakheng atop a 67metre hill. The height is level with the nearby Angkor Wat just over 1km South-East. My attention however was drawn to the West, over the Western Baray. A monumental rainstorm, with dark clouds was screaming our way. The sun still beamed through clouds, lighting up the rich coloured landscape surrounding.
The final shot taken, 15 second exposure, as the rain storm clouds can be seen blurring through the sky.
The rain lashed down for 30minutes, whilst I took shelter in the small structure as seen in the last photo. Unfortunately the roof was open, and the dry floor became a 15cm deep swimming pool. The camera bag needed a good dry out overnight, before more shooting in the morning.
Permalink
Posted in Animals, Landscape, Travel at 1:00 pm by Warren Williams
After the sunrise, we headed North 30km to Banteay Srei with some intricate carvings.
Permalink
Posted in Landscape, People, Travel at 7:00 am by Warren Williams
After a hectic day previously, having to negotiate swarms of tourists, I asked my tuk tuk driver to take to a quiet temple, and we came to this peaceful lake, Sras Srang.
My great tuk tuk/motorcycle driver playing around with my 20D camera, whilst I made use of my new Canon 1D MkIII.
Permalink
07.01.07
Posted in General, Landscape, Travel at 3:00 pm by Warren Williams
After an already long day, after rising at 4:30am, made the 3rd large temple visit at Ta Prohm, 1km East of Angkor Thom.
One particular tree and building was made famous in the movie, Tomb Raider. Plenty of trees in the area provide some shade from the mid 30s temperatures.
Self portrait, to give a scale of the tree!
360° panoramic of Ta Prohm. Plenty of tourists surround another tree growing over the historical buildings
Permalink
Posted in General, Landscape, Travel at 1:00 pm by Warren Williams
Immediately following Angkor Wat, we travelled North to the next temple, Angkor Thom. First established in the 12th century, 3kmx3km walls enclose the city made up of various styled temples.
Gateway to Angkor Thom, leading through to Bayon
Lensflare over a Bayon face
Small side gateway from Baphuon to Phimeanakas.
Phimeanakas – bigger than it appears
Millipede atop the steep Phimeanakas
A spider on the cloth of a Buddha, Tep Pranam
6 Tiers of carvings on the outer walls of Leper King Terrace
Permalink
Posted in General, Landscape, Travel at 8:00 am by Warren Williams
Dawn arose, for an early start from Siem Reap to the majestic Angkor Wat temple. It’s the worlds’ largest religious building, with more stone than the Great Pryamid of Egypt. Words or even photos cannot describe the scale of the building and surrounding walls and moat. More info can be found on Wikipedia.
Hundreds of tourists littered the walkways, and by the cliched sunrise photo position by the small lake. This made photo opportunities very limited, however crowds soon dispersed within 30 minutes. Few dared to climb up the dangerously steep rock walkways, which gave impressive views around the area.
Lack of a sunrise, but the structures certainly make up for it
Note the restoration taking place (was edited out in first photo)
North-West tower of the inner gallery
Looking North from the inner gallery
Another view, the scale simply cannot be imagined
Westward to the entrance of Angkor Wat
Thick jungle surrounds the outer buildings
Permalink
« Previous Page « Previous Page Next entries »
