PhOtO a DaY nOvEmBeR 2024:

NOVEMBER 1st NEGATIVE SPACE: A little prayer wheel which lives near our front door and usually gets spun on our way out of the apartment

NOVEMBER 2nd ON THE TABLE: a still life of letter writing for my snail mail project. I like to write in cafes and an old favourite lunch spot reopened this week and we had to go back for the dish we always loved this afternoon for lunch.

 Lunch 

NOVEMBER 3rd MUGS: My three favourite coffee mugs with very typical Cambodian scenes depicted on them

NOVEMBER 4th MONOTONE: Those rare glimpses of the imprint of buildings long gone …. The slow steady march of development

NOVEMBER 5th CIRCLES: in one of the many cane, rattan and bamboo basket ware stalls in the Russian Market precinct. I absolutely love these stalls and am frequently tempted. Today I succumbed to something completely different …

*this one appeared in the fab five on Facebook

our purchase

NOVEMBER 6th A BRICK WALL: with traditional shutters and the black stains of damp from the wet season. It’s inside a temple compound and from the orange robes hanging and in the window I guess it’s utilised as housing for the monks 

NOVEMBER 7th WATER IN MOTION: the ripples and flow of the Tonle Sap with a sunset cruise boat in the early evening

NOVEMBER 8th HIGH ANGLE: Street life in Phnom Penh featuring the cyclo-riders conducting a city tour for tourists as they do most afternoons

NOVEMBER 9th LONG SHADOW: When we lived in Japan we had some very good friends, who whenever they sensed you were getting uncomfortable sitting seiza style would say, “Long legs please!” These types of shadows always make me recall that expression 

NOVEMBER 10th TECHNOLOGY: When both your brother and sister and others are coming to visit today, the technology that allows you to track their flights and know their much awaited arrival is about to happen, thrills me

NOVEMBER 11th SOFT: I used to think cashmere was the softest fabric in the world but just hours before we flew out of Bhutan this year I was gifted this stunning, baby yak hair shawl by a group of former students who are now wonderful friends and adults. Now I know this is what soft really means. Not a lot of opportunities to wear it in the tropics but I will use it when we travel in winter climates

NOVEMBER 12th A TOY OR GAME : We usually travel with this compact game and play it at home too    

NOVEMBER 13th MULTIPLES: A 3-day public holiday starts tomorrow in Cambodia and multiples of every brand of beer are being loaded into outlets all across the city today

NOVEMBER 14th DELICATE THINGS: Like many others the most delicate things I can think of are flower petals and this Cuban Ginger currently flowering on our terrace is no exception. The blooms rarely last more than a few hours and the scent is gorgeous 

 NOVEMBER 15th ABSTRACT: Sometimes when you accidentally move the camera you get an abstract image that looks like something completely different. This reminds me of birds taking flight

NOVEMBER 16th BICYCLE: A basketry vendor in the market zone scanning for customers

NOVEMBER 17th TIMELESS: Cambodia’s timeless transport option still very much in use on a daily basis and it always comes with a smile 

NOVEMBER 18th MIRROR: The mirror finish on these windows reflects the surrounding buildings

NOVEMBER 19th RUSTED BEAUTY: Several artists in Cambodia work with metal and rust to produce spectacular pieces. I regret not recording the name of the artist, who created these but I thought they were most impressive 

NOVEMBER 20th MYSTERIOUS: We have recently learnt to make a traditional Khmer dish using these lace rice noodles but it is mysterious to me how they can possibly be made

the dish itself

NOVEMBER 21st OLD & NEW: Art. The ancient art of stone rubbing from a stele, I purchased in the 1980s in China and a modern lithograph with a limited numbered print run of a street scene of Phnom Penh I purchased just after we moved to the city

NOVEMBER 22nd BANANA: Thanks to our lovely Khmer neighbour we now know that at Water Festival offerings and altars should include flowers, incense, poha (flattened rice) and bananas. She also kindly donated us poha and bananas and showed us how it is consumed locally. As we don’t have an altar of our own we made the offering in front of one of our standing Buddhas and there it remains until I see her dismantle hers. 

 the full scene

NOVEMBER 23rd DARK AND MOODY: entranceways in the back lanes of Phnom Penh belie the often light and cheerful residences within. This one is off the laneway to our apartment but it is not our entrance

NOVEMBER 24th A BUS STOP: No need for a bus stop here buses can and do stop wherever they feel inclined, so I guess a stopped bus will have to do

NOVEMBER 25th LOW ANGLE: shot taken from the base of a very tall palm

NOVEMBER 26th FAMILY HEIRLOOM: Having lived in seven different countries over the course of my working life, I have precious few possessions that are heirlooms but this little chopping board qualifies. It was my mother’s and only ever used for garlic and onions so the strong flavour didn’t taint other chopping boards and transfer to other food. I’m pretty sure but not certain that my younger brother who is now in his sixties made it in year eight woodwork classes

NOVEMBER 27th A POT: used for Buddhist ceremonial purposes and on sale in Russian Market this morning but not purchased by me 

NOVEMBER 28th NOISY: Last night we attended a very special 50th birthday celebration and whilst dinner was being served sedate, live music was played but after that it most certainly got noisy

NOVEMBER 29th A MOMENT: early this morning when the nightlights were still on, the sky was lightening up but the sun was not yet visible. The Big Durian in the traffic circle in Kampot which we often refer to as the ‘durian-about’ 

NOVEMBER 30th HARD: I believe this style of bike was more often used to carry goods than passengers. There a still a few that function in Kampot but this one would be mighty hard to ride considering the lack of seat and the state of the handlebars

PROMPTS

On the streets where we live

 Anecdotes of life in Phnom Penh  

Recently we headed off to the Electricity Office to pay a bill we had discovered quite by accident in a plastic bottle zip tied to a screen door downstairs- a place bills have never been before. It had our address on it so away we went, even though we were quite sure we did not owe anything. Once we arrived, we went from window to window and upstairs and back down but accomplished our mission. This is the price you pay for not speaking the local language and we didn’t mind at all. By the time we were told that it was someone else’s bill we were about to pay, Ian had already established that, but we thought we knew whose, so instantly decided that when the grand total of both bills was only a few dollars and that day was the expiry date, we’d just pay it anyway. Why our address and someone else’s name is on the bill is a mystery we are yet to solve but no harm done and good karma has a way of coming back to you too. 

Whilst heading to our next errand I decided to help myself to the flowers among the cuttings of the tropical plants in a plaza area nearby, mad old woman that I am. The worker, who had been piling them up, was delighted and came over with her knife to help me cut them to a shorter length. I thanked her and she smiled back. Even after clearing garden beds in the heat she was happy to assist and glad I wanted them. No words were spoken but it made my day. There’s that karma bouncing back I thought. 

One evening a couple of weeks ago in what I refer to as the pub, I watched as the always bubbly and accomodating waitress silently slid from beaming confidence to surprise and denial and finally into deflated. A customer had confronted her because he apparently had misinterpreted what she had said in response to a question from him. It really threw her. I have admired this gal often. She is sassy and engaging and attentive too. She shares friendly banter with older men, who drink alone, laughs loudly with local women who engage with her as a break from conversing in English with the expat partners they accompany and generally tries to make people feel at ease as well. Eventually, I had an opportunity to chat with her and see her smile return. No one likes a confrontation Khmer less than anyone. 

Speak out sisters - we are all in this together. 

One PhOtO a DaY oCtObEr 2024:

OCTOBER 1st FLOWERS: -lotuses to be specific. Today is the first of the three days of Public Holidays for Pchum Ben here in Cambodia. These flowers have been especially folded for altars and offerings and so I had to buy a few for our little spirit house this morning

OCTOBER 2nd TEXTURES IN NATURE: presumably designed to protect the tree from climbing foragers but so very prickly. Tree huggers beware

OCTOBER 3rd A FEATHER: from Australia but now I’m not sure if it was from a magpie or a piping shrike. I can’t resist collecting little treasures from the streets and surrounds on our walks

OCTOBER 4th A MOUNTAIN VIEW: Hard to believe that only four months ago we were hiking in the Himalayas and surrounded by what have to be some of the most iconic mountain views in the world

OCTOBER 5th BEAUTY IN THE ORDINARY: Twilight at Wat Phnom the hornbills are a very common sight, but I still get a huge thrill out of seeing them and capturing them in flight

*Happy to see this one appeared in the fabbers grid for this day 

OCTOBER 6th GOLDEN HOUR: At Wat Phnom yesterday. I waited today but it’s stormy and about to rain

OCTOBER 7th GREENERY: on our terrace in the early morning, with evidence of the violent, evening storm activity we have been experiencing in the final throes of the monsoon season. Not complaining at all. The storms are dramatically spectacular and mostly confine themselves to the late evening thereby washing everything clean for the start of each new day and the garden is booming

OCTOBER 8th A FAVOURITE TREE: in the National Park in Kep and one aptly named and labeled the “Increditble Tree”. We visited it often when we lived there

OCTOBER 9th ON THE GROUND: at the entrance to one of the many buildings in Wat Ounalom, is this lovely, if somewhat grubby terrazzo depiction of a lotus

OCTOBER 10th A BODY OF WATER: I waited for evening to get the sunset cruise boats returning to dock on the Tonle Sap just a couple of blocks from home

OCTOBER 11th BIRDS IN FLIGHT: This is an archive shot and I’ve already posted a hornbill this month but I never tire of spotting hornbills and we see them so very often

OCTOBER 12th A CALM MORNING: in the streets of Phnom Penh before the chaos of traffic and the local monks are at the flower and fruit vendors’ stalls issuing blessings on their morning alms walk. They do not eat after noon until dawn the following day so the donations of food or money sustain them and in exchange they chant blessings. It’s always a delight to see them

SEPTEMBER 13th SHAPES IN NATURE:  Lotus root being prepared for one of my signature dishes - Lotus Root Salad

OCTOBER 14th WILDLIFE: in the inner-city besides marauding monkeys, there are limited opportunities to see wildlife. The dragonflies swarm sometimes in the early evening and this one with beautiful translucent wings came to visit our terrace a few days ago

OCTOBER 15th WATER DROPS ON A LEAF: on our terrace this morning. As the monsoon season winds down, it occurs less and less often. Only a week ago mops and squeegees were on standby to ensure that there was no flooding

OCTOBER 16th GARDEN PATH: at Umpherston Sink Hole in Mt Gambier: an archive shot from our last visit home

OCTOBER 17th DRAMATIC CLOUDS: at that time of the afternoon when the skies start to darken and the thunder rumbles before the monsoon rains start 

OCTOBER 18th SEASON: Here in Cambodia there are basically only two season the wet and the dry. Today began with one of the dramatic torrential rain storms that occur at the end of the monsoon season

*Checkout the rain at breakfast time this morning when this shot was taken

OCTOBER 19th A SERENE LANDSCAPE: the lush paddies of young green rice and the sugar palms of a quintessential Cambodian rural scene

OCTOBER 20th A TRAIL: This is an archive shot on a quiet and deserted trail leading up to Semtoka Dzong in Thimphu earlier in the year.  Shinrin Yoku or the practice of forest bathing, soothes the soul

OCTOBER 21st UP CLOSE OF TREE BARK: This reminded me of the shot I took of an elephant’s eye so I couldn’t resist posting it

* the elephants eye

OCTOBER 22nd UNDERNEATH A BRIDGE: The covered bridge in Thimphu from a time now long gone when you could still hang prayer flags from it

OCTOBER 23rd PATTERNS IN NATURE: A dried seed pod from a lotus flower. I love how this pattern starts in the root continues through the stem and reappears again in the seed pod with the number and configuration of the holes remaining the same. Nature’s fascinating little quirks 

OCTOBER 24th A FIELD: An archive shot of a field of ripening rice looking as the fields appear right now except that we live in the inner city and no longer get to see them as often 

OCTOBER 25th NIGHT SKY: A moody monsoon night sky at twilight. Taken a couple of days ago when I got completely bamboozled and thought that was the prompt on that day, as you do 

OCTOBER 26th VIBRANT FLOWER: a water lily spotted on the riverside today when we were out for a walk

OCTOBER 27th FLOWER MACRO SHOT: The random coxcomb that mysteriously appeared in a pot on the terrace this year. It has an amazingly maze like inner structure 

OCTOBER 28th A SPIDER WEB: This is a back pad used by the Yi minority women of China to protect the small of the back when carrying heavy loads in wicker baskets. It’s a long shot but the design is a symbolic representation of a spider web and tells the legend of how these women were protected and hidden by spiders’ webs.

the object in use in the streets of Dali Yunnan

 

OCTOBER 29th AN ANIMAL IN NATURE: spotted from the car window in Wangdue Phodrang in April this year and snapped while passing. Yak yak yakkity yak

OCTOBER 30th UP CLOSE WITH INSECTS: I have no idea what it was but it enjoyed seeing itself in the reflection on the bathroom mirror and stopped to admire itself frequently enough for me to get my phone and snap a shot

OCTOBER 31st GREEN & BLUE: After prevaricating all day, a miniature snake plant in a favourite, blue pot is all I’ve got but it is sweet

PROMPTS