Fais comme tu veux.: April 2009

Daily window

Looking out of the window while engaging in what seems like deep thoughts. Waipo waipo, what's on your mind ? How i wish i can take a SCROLL on your intricate mind.

Flashback Cambodia (1 of 2)

It has been more than 4 months since i returned home from my YEP (Youth Expedition Project) in Cambodia. Up till today, recollections of the wonderful experience I had in Cambodia still appears vividly in my mind. My yearnings for an idyllic lifestyle, and one that allows me to stray far away from the hustle and bustle of city life, can all be found in Cambodia, invariably.

The backyard of one of the school we visited. Nevermind the tell tale signs of old age; as long as the school serves its intended function, it will still be a place to educate kids in the village for many years to come.

Les fleurs comme les enfants - le cadeau de la vie.

Façade of empathy, care and love. One of the many orphanages that we visited to distribute donated items. Size of the orphanage doesn't matter, for its the priceless human touch that matters the most.

Resident of the orphange. Small, vulnerable and defenceless. The moment he saw a few of us, he seeked solace by the side of the the wall, only to be greeted by more of us.

Lines of differentiation. Red, blue, orange, green soaking the mid-day warmth.

Water, the drop of life. Saviour every drop with a pump in hand. With a manual water pump like this, you'll be coerced to think thrice before wasting water.

Clever use of empty glass bottles to decorate the frontyard.

Closer to nature. Geese like these can be seem roaming around freely in the village, and living in unison with all things big and small.

Silk filaments being unraveled from silk cocoons to be used in the production of silk.

Lady working on this traditional silk machine.

Spinning of silk into bobbins. There are red ones...

and blue ones too...

Sorting the silk thread.

Flowers.

Boat ride to Tonle Sap Lake which means Large Fresh Water River, which is an important lake and river system of great importance to Cambodia. It is one of the most productive inland fisheries in the world, supporting over 3 million people and providing over 75% of Cambodia's annual inland fish catch and 60% of Cambodians protein intake (extracted from wikipedia).

Along the way to the lake.

Our guide Rianne giggles after splashing water from the river onto us, catching us by surprise !

Housing on stilts along Tonle Sap.

Woman who sell drinks to tourists embarking on the Tonle Sap tour.

Most, if not all of the houses there are of the same built and looks almost identical.

Scene of the floating village, giving visitors an almost surreal feel to it.

Little boy keeping the dried prawns

Flashback Cambodia (2 of 2)

Village girls deriving fun from a game of rubber bands.

Tonle Sap Lake with the setting sun.

Congested road in Phnom Penh. On our way to catch the Apsara dance.

Tuol Sleng Museum of Genocide. This is Pol Pot's secret prison (codename S-21) during his genocidal rule from 1975-1979. During this reign of terror, between 1 - 2 million Cambodians and foreigners were starved to death, tortured, or killed. This is the site of the former high school turned prison.

Silence. Photos of genocide victims on display in the many prison cells.

Upon arrival at the prison, the prisoners were photographed and required to give detailed autobiographies right up from their childhood to their arrest.

Fixture to keep the prisoners' head straight up before they were photographed.

Actual cell where the prisoners were being tortured.

Un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six, sept, huit, neuf,dix. Counting their days spent in the prison.

While inside the prison, moments of poignancy will unravel itself and visitors alike will be thrown into a sense of disbelief. Walking on the outside will mar these thoughts at least for awhile before reality sets back in again.