Stone Temple Pilots in Angkor, Cambodia, 10th to 13th Feb 2006

The marvellous walled capital city of the Khmers, the approach of which is guarded by nine-headed nagas on either side, the symbol of strength and majesty in Hindu-Khmer mythology. In the background, the visitor beholds the visage of King Jayavarman VII, lips curled in a knowing smile that acknowledges the magnificence and splendour of Angkor Thom, the child of Ambition and Power, and who seems to mock the insignificant traveller.

The Bayon, and the reason why cold grey stone still awes. Enough said.

Trees rule in Ta Phrom, where Antiquity wages a losing battle against Nature. Kudos to Darren for a wonderful shot.

Nature the Eternal has the last word, and fashions her own greatness at Preah Khan.

The unfinished construction at Sang Srang. Tranquility defined in terms other than rock and ruin.

Angkor Wat in the lotus pond. On the morning of the thirteenth of February, we learnt that our peregrinations were not for naught.

Dauntless at Ta Keo. At the bottom and in the head, I could have scaled anything. At the top, I wished I had climbed 43 stories on proper concrete flights of stairs instead of the two narrow crumbling ones in this picture.

Siem Reap Sojourn, Cambodia 10th to 13th Feb 2006

Downtown Siem Reap at night. There's a bookshop somewhere along the stretch on the right, and no lack of variety for the choosy diner (namely me).

Streets in Siem Reap are many things more than just a simple sidewalk.

The wet section in the Old Market. Had to hold my nose to get this picture. See foreground.

Cycling on our last day in Cambodia, in out-of-town Siem Reap once more. Perfectly safe, even with the freewheeling habits of the local motorists, because nobody speeds. I am one of many riders without helmets, albeit on the cautious side.

A blast from the past - A family get-together in the evening in out-of-town Siem Reap, and marbles. One of my first few experimentations with black and white.

One of our favourite dining spots, because of the set meals which made dinner an economical affair. We believed ourselves to possess talismanic powers of being able to draw customers, as heralds of business and prosperity. (We were often the first of many.) This day was an aberration. Here I began my love affair with aglio olio, which was pasta stir-fried with chilli and garlic in olive oil.

Cambodia Commercial Bank. Landmine victim in the right place at the wrong time.

Five Hours Baking On The Tonle Sap, Cambodia 10th Feb 2006

In the distance is the confluence of the Tonle Sap, the Mekong and the Tonle Bassac. I am by the Tonle Sap. The Mekong runs from the left, and the Tonle Bassac to the right. Tonle means river in Khmer, as one can deduce from the names of the rivers.

The four of us, before moving out, and still a healthy shade of wholesome brown.

Late morning on the Tonle Sap. Before it got hotter.

Enthusiastic Cambodian kids on the river. Everytime a large craft (usually a ferry laden with tourists) passes, I see these boatfolk jump to their oars in order to set the bow perpendicularly to the direction the larger vessel takes. More often than not, their adroit and experienced arms make short work of this manoeuvre, and are free once again to wave to any passing ferries.

Tourists lounging at the top of the ferry. We encountered here a young lady, who was probably not much older than us, or could even be our age, travelling on her own. That takes some courage. Enough to put our herd of four to shame, in any case.

Best to sit here for the scenery. Good tanning spot, with, I stress, the right and proper precaution. Otherwise, it adds a rosy hue to the skin, and gives it a nice warm glow, literally.

Birds trailing in the wake of our ferry, on the Tonle Sap Lake. Hangers-on who feast on the pickings (constituted by very unlucky small fish in the way of our craft) churned out by the motor of the ferry.

The floating villages on the Tonle Sap lake, closer to the Siem Reap side. The true riverfolk. I'm most comfortable on terra firma, and however buoyant it makes me, a life on water isn't for me.

A Step into the Seventies - Phnom Penh, Cambodia - 8th & 9th Feb 2006

Wat Phnom from the foot of the mount on which it stood, commemorating the very spot where it was said the Lady Penh founded Phnom Penh. No prize for guessing now for whom was the city named. Phnom is actually hill in Khmer, like Bukit in our Bahasa Melayu.

Sisowath Quay - Phnom Penh's modest answer to our Boat Quay. But it will do. Cafes serving all kinds of dishes from Cambodian to Italian cater to the needs of the many tourists that frequent the place. On the right hand side, unseen here, runs the Tonle Sap river, on which fishermen depend almost totally for their livelihood. Vannak said a stretch a kilometre's length can yield up to a ton of fish.

Victims of the S21, who died at the Killing Fields. The skulls were catalogued and categorised according to age in a pagoda built in their memory. My first encounter with the skulls so often associated with the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge. A haunting experience. These were once people who thought and felt very like you and me.

The deep breath before the plunge. Go-carting on the outskirts of Phnom Penh. I am in blue, because all the red outfits were too big. Seriously. I am last despite finishing first for the warm-up lap because I braked too late, and past the starting line, and so had to go one more round to get behind it.

We were at it for about half an hour, and I thoroughly enjoyed it despite my initial reservations. I had earlier castigated both Darren and Jansen, the chief perpetrators behind the whole go-carting idea for being profligate with their money, and I never heard the end of it after that because they nearly had to drag me out of the go-cart once the time was up!

The Silver Pagoda in the Royal Palace. Nothing silver about it, until you head inside.

A picture of Pol Pot at the Toul Sleng Genocidal Museum. I'm not sure if it was first vandalised and then displayed, or conversely. I think it must have been the latter order. Well, the fact that the people who run the museum don't ever bother to replace the picture speaks volume about what the Cambodians think of their former leader.

Cambodia fare, at this place called the Boat Village Restaurant. It was our last night in Phnom Penh, and we invited Vannak to join us, for his eternal enthusiasm and helpfulness. In the foreground my favourite cha kreung - chicken stir-fried Cambodian style with some kind of sweet sauce that Darren licked the bowl clean of. Not a single morsel was left of it when we finished.

On Our Own - Bangkok, Thailand, 6th & 7th Feb 2006

The sight that greets most visitors to Thai tourism offices or visitor centres: the Thai Royal Palace. Wat Phra Kaeo, the most notable landmark and which houses the Emerald Buddha is on the utmost right.

Siamese sentinel guarding the Grand Palace.

Wat Arun - The Temple of the Dawn - and the view from the Chao Phraya River. Our first lesson in Hindu-ised architectural symmetry, albeit a very tentative introduction.

Wat Pho - The Temple of the Reclining Buddha - which houses the largest indoor reclining Buddha in the world. I'm not sure if that it's made of solid gold (I suspect it isn't), but its soles are in-laid with mother-of-pearls. I've never before seen so many mother-of-pearls together at once.

Patpong - the district that gives Bangkok the name and image of Sleaze City and one of the great places there to pick up a bargain or two. We wanted to catch the famous, or should I say infamous, Thai Girl Show (which Thai promoters/pimps very conveniently abbreviated as "Pussy Shows"), but was quite disgusted when we peeked into one of the bars in the vicinity and saw easily a dozen grown men in underwear and suspenders pole-dancing on the bar tops. And they weren't even muscular, they were skinny! Give me vomit, anytime.

Atrocious traffic conditions in Bangkok. Here, just outside Mah Boon Krong Shopping Complex.

Muay Thai - the Thai national passion. Front-row seats, for the equivalent amount of S$80. Nobody died, thankfully, even though I was expecting more ferocity and blood. But these guys move faster than most camera lenses can capture, so be on your best behaviour at the boxing stadium.

Up and Down A Hill In Penang, Malaysia 4th & 5th Feb 2006

The hill in question. Looks more like a hillock. The view at its foot, before we violated gravitational laws. Our initial objective was Kek Lok Si Temple, which was approximately where the statue stood in the picture, perceptibly close to the top of the hill. We didn't reckon on it reclining and spiralling back- and upwards beyond our sight. So began our arduous two-hour ascent to where we thought the Temple (it had earned the capitalisation by virtue of the lengths we went to to locate it) stood - to the top of that hill. The place really was only half-way up. No, not really, less than that.

Ayer Hitam Dam, courtesy of Darren. I was meant to appear contemplative in this picture, and on hindsight, it wouldn't have been so if the shadows had not obscured my expression (I'm not sure I looked contemplative enough, see). If you are of the opinion that this is a good shot (which I am) it is really an mistimed accident of poor lighting. Sorry Darren.

The sight that both redeemed and rewarded what looked like a fruitless climb.

The Goddess of Mercy. Kek Lok Si Temple. She was on leave that day. I'm sure we would have otherwise averted our earlier tribulations.

We lingered around long enough and lo! the lights came on.

Nope, this is the Swissotel Hotel in town. This is KOMTAR(not sure what it stands for, really) - the tallest building in Georgetown and the most distinguishable feature of the skyline. You won't miss it.

That's Georgetown across the Straits. We were on our way to Butterworth to take the 21-hour train to Bangkok. Although I was looking forward to the next leg of our trip, where we would finally step out of the familiarity provided by Darren's relatives, and be on our own, I felt rather sad to be leaving Penang. Not least because of the generosity showed us by Darren's grandparents. His grandfather very kindly sponsored all of the three plates of char kway teow I consumed when I was there. (Our last meal, very predictably, was taken at MacDonald's.)

First Stop - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - 3rd & 4th Feb 2006

Sample of the KL cityscape. Taken near the Petronas Twin Towers, and arguably KL's tidiest stretch of municipal space.

The Petronas Twin Tower, from a shady angle under a bridge.

KL Tower. Up the road from where the Twin Towers stood, but we made a clever flank and arrived here half an hour later than we really should.

Towers don't really give the architect much room, literally as well as figuratively, to showcase their talents, don't they?

The best place to view the Petronas Twin Towers - KL Tower, the other titan of the KL skyline. Here is where tourists engage in the conventional photographic foolery involving positioning themselves in such a manner as to show themselves gripping the towers between their fingers.

Times Square (no, not New York) in the background. A cavern of a shopping centre.

Merdeka Square, where Malaysian independence was proclaimed. Here we learnt our first lesson in crossing foreign streets (ie. nearly mown over by impatient Malaysian drivers).


Me, Darren and Jansen at the Masjid Negara, the National Mosque. We've been with our carapaces the whole morning.