07.02.07
Siem Reap Countryside
After the sunrise, we headed North 30km to Banteay Srei with some intricate carvings.
Sras Srang Sunrise
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.
07.01.07
Ta Prohm, Siem Reap (Tomb Raider Temple)
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
Angkor Thom, Siem Reap
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
Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia
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
06.30.07
Hop, Skip and a Jump to Cambodia
After an already hectic first 3 days of travelling, I thought it would be great to keep up the momentum and head straight to Siem Reap, Cambodia. The cheaper flights arrive in the capital, Phnom Penh, but then there’s a 5-6 hour bus ride (314km), to Siem Reap. Transportation is very cheap, with buses costing between US$4-10. I had a bit of a run in with a taxi, who took me straight to a hotel on a back street. I didn’t ask to go there, but he took me there, unloaded my bags, before I reminded him I’m not staying the night, and will be travelling by bus to Siem Reap. The driver swore at me, then said “don’t you speak to me again!” and drove eratically to a nearby bus station. Unfortunately I just missed the 10am bus, and had to wait for the 11:30am bus. First impressions of Phnom Penh were obviously not good, and I was very glad to get out of there.
Flying in from BKK to Phnom Penh, can see the wet landscape of rice fields
At the half way point of the bus trip, we stopped for some lunch… Just at this moment a heavy rain storm passed, which over the next couple of days proved to be a regular occurence.
Once arrived in Siem Reap, there were 50 odd tuk tuk drivers, who charged up to the few Westerners travelling by bus, offering cheap rides of $1. Surprise, surprise there was a young man there with my name. He showed a place of recommendation on the back of the tuk tuk, a simple advertisement. I decided to trust him, and also made mention that the place is only a year or so old. We arrived at “Siem Reap Riverside“, which was actually quite nice to what I had seen driving through the town! Finally something was going well.
The ride can be bone-jarring
Tonight’s dinner
Siem Reap Riverside guest house was 100metres past here on the right. 300metres out of town
My first early night, as I have a 5am get up for Angkor Wat.
06.28.07
Ayutthaya – Thailand’s old Capital
The 90min train journey from Hualamphong train station went without a hitch. Arrived mid afternoon ready for a couple hours via Tuk Tuk around a few of the larger temples.
Wat Phra Chao Phya-Thai
Wat Chaiwatthanaram
Wat Phra Si Sanphet
Wat Phra Ram, from the moving Tuk Tuk
The train journey back again was smooth, with fresh wind blowing through the open carriages. Off to the floating market tomorrow for another perspective on life in Thailand.
06.27.07
Auckland to Sydney
QF190 from NZAA to YSSY departed on surprisingly clear crisp skies. I took the window seat requested (43A), to keep out of the direct sun and a clear view over the wing.
Overlooking Waiuku and Port Waikato
I think the wing needs a clean 😉
Arriving into Sydney, with interesting water patterns.
Despite being in transit to Bangkok, Sydney airport security were even kind enough to believe I’m the suspicious type, deciding to do a full search of my bags, containing camera gear, taking smears for explosive resins and drugs. I wasn’t pleased.
05.28.07
Night at the Museum
Spent a cold evening, photographing the architecture of the Auckland War Museum, with some local members of the Canon Digital Photography forum.
It was more of a social visit for me, so didn’t get too many shots.
04.23.07
Bethells Beach
A last minute decision to rush out to the beach paid off with a beautiful sunset.
04.16.07
Muriwai Gannet Colony
Took a trip out mid afternoon to Muriwai to capture a sunset. The weather turned twice, bringing some heavy showers down, which just made the scene more dramatic.
PS. Happy Birthday Kirst 😉
04.09.07
Anawhata Sunset
Another photography trip on Easter Monday, along the gravel road from Piha Road. A beautiful beach, but the walk up the hill is a killer afterwards!
04.06.07
A Good Friday
Today was definitely a Good Friday. Met up with a handful of other photographers at Whatipu, in some rather drab conditions (as to be expected on long Easter weekends)
03.09.07
Motuihe Island – Hauraki Gulf
Spent a day at Motuihe Island, planting trees, and enjoying a BBQ and some sport games. Some good volunteering fun.
02.17.07
Queen Mary 2 Departure and Fireworks
Click to enlarge each photo – As viewed from Stanley Bay
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