[cambodia 2010] a glimpse of angkor

cambodia travel diary day 2

easily the most exciting day of the trip, we travelled around the angkor region for the whole day, spending 2-3 hours at each temple. we explored angkor wat, angkor thom, the bayon, bantey srei, ta promh and pre rup. honestly, one day wasn't enough for me. i could happily spend more than a week in angkor, exploring the many many temples.



angkor wat was the first stop of the day. our guide brought us to a spot where you could glimpse the five 'towers' of angkor wat in the distance. as you go nearer, because of distance perspective, only three 'towers' are ever in view (like in the fourth picture).



so begins my visit of the world's largest religious building.



travel tip

for the ladies, please make sure to wear bottoms that will cover your knees otherwise you will not be allowed to ascend to the highest level of angkor wat. i had actually planned to wear shorts but my guide said it wasn't appropriate. i wore leggings in the end, which was all good, because it turned out to be an unusually chilly day.



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golden half, solaris 100

[cambodia 2010] my one true film love

i met my film soulmate last year in hong kong last year. i impulsively bought a few rolls in a camera shop and since then i make sure to always keep some rolls on hand.



solaris always imbues pictures with this beautiful golden vibe. colours are creamy under the right conditions and the grain is very fine for iso100-200.



but alas, the course of true love never did run smooth. i heard that ferrania will stop producing ISO100 films and will also be decreasing production quantities of the other remaining ISOs. the production halt of Solaris 100 means i am now officially a film hoarding monster. i scour ebay for Solaris 100 and buy them whenever i can!



This roll actually came from one of my purchases off ebay, it's actually expired but I don't think it has caused the Solaris to lose any of its beauty.



golden half, ferrania solaris 100

into that silent (green) sea

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[cambodia 2010] life on the lake

life on the lake is a million years away from how we lead our lives in busy, metropolitan areas. i am glad i had the opportunity to take it in.



01. houseboats in the distance

02. houses on the shore

03. houseboats

04. house on stilts

05. working on the shores

06. lake children paddling in metal tubs and sampans (wooden boats)

07. drying clothes

08. a crocodile farm in the middle of the lake

09. recycling



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replies



from shadow shot sunday: me and my brother

really rainey: the angle is down! :) my brother and i were on the second level of the boat, leaning over some railings when i snapped the picture!

hootin' anni: oh dear, i hope my picture didn't upset your vertigo very much. thank you for liking it anyway :)

hey_harriet: i figured i had to make up for all those weeks that i haven't joined so i came out with all guns blazing! :) hope you are keeping well this week!

serendipity: hello! thank you for liking my shadow and visiting! hope to see you around! :)

jihee: heyy! thanks for liking my shadow, join in the shadow fun next time at hey_harriet yeah :)



from row row row your boat

greg l: thanks! :) i really loved the pictures i got of tonle sap. the weather was just perfect for 100iso films.

shadow shot sunday: me and my brother

it's been awhile since i joined in the shadow shot sunday fun! i hope this picture more than makes up for my lack of participation since november. eeps!



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shadow shot sunday

[cambodia 2010] row row row your boat

Row, row, row your boat

Gently down the stream.

Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,

Life is but a dream.



golden half, lomography redscale xr 50-200

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[cambodia 2010] fisheye view of tonle sap

cambodia travel diary day 1

in khmer, tonle sap means large fresh water river or great lake. it is the biggest freshwater lake in southeast asia! being a fertile area for fishing and fish being a staple in the cambodian diet, there are many communities who live along the banks of tonle sap. they are mostly ethnic cambodians, vietnamese and chinese. our guide informed us that you could identity the ethnicity of the people by the colour of their houses. and it is usually the chinese who run little businesses on the waters. on the lake, there are all kinds of floating houses, including a church (above), schools, football court and shops! it was kind of mind-boggling to see entire lives being lived out on the waters.

travel tip

if you should ever visit tonle sap, check if your boat has a roof you can sit on. i spied a ladder on our return trip and they let me sit on top. it's the best way to travel the river. you can see for miles and miles with nothing to spoil your view! that's where i am sitting on in my photo.



oh, and dad, mum and little brother says hello! :)

fisheye 2, agfa vista 400





replies



from  i ♥ instant pictures 

greg l: some were great, some were not so good, i still have much to learn about ISOs and each camera's eccentricities.

barbara: hi, thanks for visiting and commenting. i am a big fan of your blog!

rhianna: thank you! i am loving the colours of instant film very much!



from arriving in cambodia

holgadirect: thank you, i will work harder. thanks for linking me up on your twitter as well! :)



from around siem reap 

jihee: hi! so glad you found me! looking forward to get to know you better! :))

[cambodia 2010] around siem reap

01. siem reap international airport

02. pub street for breakfast

03. ree hotel, driving along



holga 135bc, lomography redscale xr



04. ree hotel

05. ree hotel

06. ree hotel

07. cambodian rice fields

08. cambodian cultural village



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[cambodia 2010] arriving in cambodia

cambodia travel diary day 1

our flight to siem reap happened at the very early hour of 6am. i was sitting in an aisle seat and i couldn't see that we would be disembarking right onto the tarmac itself until i had walked down the tunnel. i distinctly remembered that i thought we would have to get a bus to the main terminal building but to my surprise the terminal was (literally) twenty steps away. the terminal was modelled after a traditional khmer building, sort of like the national museum of cambodia, make it the prettiest airport i have ever seen!

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p/s: i have so many pictures that i feel like it would take months blogging before i am done!

[cambodia 2010] i ♥ instant pictures

it's twirl about tuesday! [okay, i totally made that up, but i think a little twirl around the office, bedroom, classroom could totally make your day a little better :) ]

today i have six more instaxs from cambodia. the first was taken at the bayon and the second was at bantey srei, a beautiful little fairyland of a temple. both these temples are part of the angkor complex. the third and fourth pictures were shot at the grand palace in phnom penh, the capital. angkor is in siem reap, north of phnom penh. the fifth picture is of the national museum of cambodia and the sixth is wat phnom, the founding spot of phnom penh.

i really wish i had more instax film with me. i love how soft and dreamy the pictures turn out to be. i couldn't snap more because i only had 1.5 packs and i really really had to ration myself, a very torturous exercise i wish never to subject myself to ever again! thank goodness, i have loads of friends who own the fuji instax too, we are planning to bulk buy the film at super cheap prices! i never ever want to run out of instant film if possible when travelling!

(p/s: go here to see my other instaxs from cambodia)