THE PROMPTS
THURSDAY 1st FENCE: This ornate fence is at the front entrance the Damrey Sor Pagoda in downtown Battambang. It is largely concealed in the shade of huge trees and a little in need of repair and repainting but the detail is incredible. It immediately caught my eye
FRIDAY 2nd A FUNNY SHAPE: We spent the day in the temples of the Angkor Wat complex and this apsara was in Ta Prohm, which is famous as the setting for “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” Due to the invasion of trees, earth movement and collapse in the support columns of the temple she is a decidedly funny shape
SATURDAY 3rd FOR SALE SIGN: It’s sad to see so many businesses closed or empty here in Siem Reap so we have been trying to do our bit to help those still open by purchasing more items than usual on this trip. I may have gone just a bit over board in the weekend Made in Cambodia Market this morning.....
SUNDAY 4th AFTERNOON LIGHT: We are in Siem Reap and of course like everyone else the main point was to see Angkor Wat. It is the third trip for us and one inspired by the lack of crowds at this time. With a one-day ticket you get the chance to enter for the final 30 minutes the day before and we were treated to this. The magical moment the sunset flushes the sky with warm afternoon light
MONDAY 5th YOUR PARENTS: I have exactly two digital photos of my mum and this is the best of them. She left us 13 years ago. The little boy is her grandson but could easily be my brother, who is his father and looked identical at that age. I don’t have a single image of my dad, who we lost 22 years ago and the only printed photographs I have of them together are more than 6,500 kilometres away
TUESDAY 6th WHAT’S IN YOUR POCKET: As is so often the case for women’s clothing, my dress has no pockets. So, this is what’s in the pocket of my trusty over packed handbag that is so overfull it’s actually a survival kit in a bag
WEDNESDAY 7th HALF FULL: glass of pineapple shake in a little street side café in Phnom Penh
THURSDAY 8th A LIST: Today is our final day in Phnom Penh and we found a recently opened shop, I have wanted to check out, since seeing its Instagram posts. I wasn’t planning on buying anything but these cute little fruit and veggie bags caught Ian’s eye. Frankly I was glad that he was suggesting the purchase not me for a change and they seemed like one more step towards a “no plastic lifestyle. “ Nice succinct list of worthy attributes too I thought
FRIDAY 9th AN UNMADE BED: All good things must end! Today we head home to Kep from Phnom Penh after two weeks of domestic travel. I would never leave the house with an unmade bed but it’s excusable in a hotel, right?
SATURDAY 10th SPLASH: We arrived back in Kep yesterday and by 7:30am this morning we were already riding back from the bakery along the beachfront. Due to days of torrential rain and stormy conditions the normally flat ocean vista was turbulent and waves were making a big splash on the seawall. Still very happy to be home
SUNDAY 11th BRIDGE: Not a bridge anywhere in Kep so this is an archive shot from one of very few evenings spent in Kampot. The old bridge with three successive additions of very different construction. An icon of the area with a very unique history
MONDAY 12th HAND SHADOWS: I really enjoyed this free, simple shadow puppet performance in the outdoor open space at the Phare Circus Venue in Siem Reap last week. Having studied puppetry for a while a long, long time ago, I had to stop myself from watching the hand shadows and force myself to focus on the puppet shadows. Suddenly when the show finished I realised I had completely forgotten that the puppeteers were visible as I was enthralled with the story
TUESDAY 13th A BOOK COVER: This year I set myself the goal of reading a book a week and I’m glad to say I’m way ahead of target. It really has been a good year to lose yourself in a book or 50! Many classics were downloaded and read on the iPad to get the year started, some re-reads of books I possessed kept it rolling and then I discovered a friend’s private library and started in on a whole new selection of literature. A few days ago, I bought myself this classic. The one and only hard copy I have bought this year
WEDNESDAY 14th THE TALLEST BUILDING: I don’t know if this is literally the tallest building in Phnom Penh or not but I snapped this shot from our hotel window last Friday moments before we left because I saw the prompt coming and little ole Kep doesn’t have anything that could even be considered tall. I dislike this kind of development that makes every city look exactly the same and deliberately included the temple rooftops in the shot because they have so much more character and charm. Call me old fashioned if you like but give me the unique cultural heritage over glass and chrome any day
THURSDAY 15th WRINKLES: crows’ feet, smile lines call them what you will, it’s all part of the aging process. The sun spots and ever darkening skin tone from over exposure, despite my attempts to avoid it, are really a bit more of a worry for me but what can you really do when you live in the tropics
FRIDAY 16th POWER LINES: A classic colonial remnant in Phnom Penh with the usual chaos of power lines going every which way and loose. I’ve always admired these old structures with round balconies and such character. I can imagine the bustle of life in them during their hay day. This style looks stunning when renovated but many, like this one, are slowly decaying and will soon be lost
BTW: Looks like a few days of archive shots for me as the forecast for the next few days is for torrential rain and storm conditions with possible flooding. Hang onto your hats we are in for the ride
SATURDAY 17th BEHIND THE SCENES: This vendor at the beachfront doesn’t usually look quite this glamorous but this was the view behind the scenes at her booth early this morning. No doubt about it, she is off to a wedding today
SUNDAY 18th A CLOSED SIGN: Open and closed signs or posting business hours are not really a thing here. Shops mostly keep regular hours or random hours whichever they please and so you only really know if they are open or not when you are standing outside! That’s the way it is. This is a favourite archive shot of mine from travelling across Bhutan returning to school after one winter break. I’ve included the caption I put on it on the day but need to add our driver took matters into his own hands and managed to convince the road construction crew to not begin dynamiting and let us through first, because he had three teachers returning to school on board and that’s why I love the shot. Gotta be lucky sometimes
MONDAY 19th SOMETHING HIDDEN: This basket lives behind the front door and contains the cushions for the outdoor setting on the porch. I empty it of frogs every day. Today I hit the jackpot; two frogs hiding underneath and two inside the basket. There has been so much rain that even the frogs are looking for higher ground. I can’t complain, however as it’s better than the snake which curled itself around the hat rack behind the opposite door in rainy season when we first moved in. Life in the tropics......
TUESDAY 20th GRAFFITI: An iconic bar in Pub Street Siem Reap. The graffiti is part of the concept and the name is pretty cool too
WEDNESDAY 21st A FLOCK OF BIRDS: In this case a couple of emus in a flock of brolgas. It is an illustration from an indigenous Australian storybook with colouring pages that I happen to still have with me even though it’s of no use for my current teaching
THURSDAY 22nd RUNNING WATER: is still something of a novelty to this boy, for whom it has only been a reality for about four or five months. Prior to the installation of several huge water tanks connected to this bathroom block and sinks, constant water shortages and waiting for a water delivery to top up the free-standing tanks was the norm. After three years, finally we have instilled a hand washing routine that is sustainable due to the newly connected running water
FRIDAY 23rd EMPTY TABLE: Plenty of empty tables at the Led Zep Cafe just inside the entrance to the Kep National Park when we started our hike early this morning. Unfortunately, by the time we were exiting several hours later they were still all empty. On weekends they are packed solid with mats on the decks over hanging the cliff face and hammocks also full to capacity
SATURDAY 24th ROCKS: The huge boulders worn smooth by the water flow at the edge of the river in Kampot. In this pre-rainy season shot, it seems impossible to believe the water carried all these rocks to this point but now the water is turbulent and fast flowing and the rocks are largely concealed. Flooding has occurred and there are warnings of more floods in the coming days. Hard to believe this was a few short months ago
SUNDAY 25th AN ARROW POINTING UP: and one more pointing left just for good measure! This sign went up at almost the exact time that the Rabbit Island Port closed for expansion and development. Luckily there haven’t been many tourists of late wanting to avail of the boat service anyway
MONDAY 26th A SPIDER WEB: in the grass near our driveway. It had only dew trapped in it in the early morning and the spider was nowhere in sight - not that I’m sorry about that. I’m not at all fond of spiders
TUESDAY 27th A COLLECTION: My ever-growing collection of scarves. I never leave home without one or two and they are all in a very limited colour range as are all my clothes. They come from six countries and hold precious memories as well as doubling as shawls, towels, furushiki, face masks and sun covers. I can’t even guess how many more there are still home in Australia.......
WEDNESDAY 28th SOFT: The delicate petals of these orchids are velvety soft and if you look very carefully there is the faintest hint of soft pink in the edges of the petals too
THURSDAY 29th DANCING: on the bar - an epic birthday celebration taken almost a year ago and oh how things have changed. Only the birthday girl, on the right remains in Kep and this bar has forever changed
FRIDAY 30th PEEKING: I’m pretty sure I’ve used this shot before for this prompt but I really miss him in class now. We arrived for class just over a week ago and were told by the other boys that he had left. We think he decided to give up his robes but cannot be sure. He was with us almost three years and besides being too cute had a very mischievous and affectionate nature. We miss you An
SATURDAY 31st A WONDERFUL SURPRISE: Not a great or flattering photo of either me or my older sister, but the most wonderful surprise I ever organised. After over a year apart, via an elaborate ruse and just days before Xmas I turned up unannounced at my sister’s front door. We are best buddies and had both had a very difficult year so this was the best moment of 2013. Forever a wonderful surprise that did our souls so much good
