I Never Seen A Bad Photo From This Place

Phnom Penh, Cambodia was one of my favorite places I visited in Asia in 2009.  And to be honest I really don’t know why because the city isn’t that beautiful but I will say the people were great.  I did a lot of walking around and one day I decided to set out and find their National Museum, after a few people told me it was worth checking out.

After finally finding it (yeah got a little lost on the way, is normal for me when traveling) I remember I didn’t think much of the outside of the building,  Then I went inside and looked around and the items on display were ok but I wasn’t blown away until I walked out to the courtyard and looked back (see the above photo).  There I found this beautiful courtyard in the middle of this dirty city that kind of left me speechless in a way (sounds dumb I know but is true).  People just sat around the pools playing with the fishes the whole time and no one talked.  Was very peaceful in a way!  I’m just happy I was able to capture a good photo of what I seen.  What do you think?

Samuel has recently came into the Travel Blogging world on fire!  His site has only been up for a few months now and it’s already got a loyal following, as he’s been producing great photography and video content on it.  Just because he’s new to the Travel Blogging world doesn’t mean he’s new to travel.  He’s been on the road the last 6 years around the world, only stopping to make a little money here and there to get to the next place.

He asked me if it would be cool if he guest posted on my site some photos he took in Cambodia.  Check out his work and let him know what you think of it.

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Sometimes a country deserves a second chance.  When I went backpacking across Cambodia in 2008 it was by far my least favourite country in South East Asia.  I had a number of things go wrong while I was there and I was (at the time) bothered by the immense poverty I saw all around me.  Upon returning in 2010-11 I had an entirely different experience.  I found myself falling in love with the people, countryside and laid back charms of a nation still recovering from one of the biggest atrocities of the 20th century.  I ended up coming back three times and enjoyed an extended stint in a relatively off the beaten track city called Battambang.  The following is a photo essay of some distinct Khmer faces captured as candid portraits on the street from my time spent in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Battambang.

A elderly lady begging at the Russian Market – Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Boy posing on his bike in a rural area outside of Battamabang – Battambang, Cambodia

A boy carrying nothing but a box on his head outside the Central Market (Psar Nath) – Battambang, Cambodia

A cute girl innocently looking up – Battambang, Cambodia

A smile not to be forgotten anytime soon – Battambang, Cambodia

A boy expressing a candid expression in rural Battambang – Battambang, Cambodia

An elderly lady crouching down to purchase fresh produce – Battambang, Cambodia

A man ecstatic about having his photo taken with his dog – Battambang, Cambodia

A monk smoking publicly just outside the Central Market (Psar Nath) – Battambang, Cambodia

Samuel Jeffery is the wizard behind the curtain pulling the strings of NomadicSamuel.com, a travel blog that is miles away from ordinary…dripping with sarcasm. As a long term vagabond (6 consecutive years on the road) Samuel is sharing his photos, videos & quirky travel stories, along with photography tips, interviews, esl tips, reviews and general travel advice as a way to vicariously experiences what it is like to backpack or to plan your own journey of a lifetime. Currently based in South Korea, Samuel is teaching English with the government program EPIK (English Program in Korea) at an elementary school in Incheon saving up hard for his next around the world adventure.  Aside from his website Nomadic Samuel, other ways of getting in touch include Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon and YouTube.

You can’t talk very much about Asia without saying something about the monks there.  There are many temples and all are mostly ran by the monks of the Buddhist religion.  To become a monk is considered very noble and is a way for a local to gain a higher level in society.  Not all of them are monks for life, as some do 6-7 years to gain wisdom and stature while serving their religion and giving back to society.  I have seen monks smoke, smile, look you in the eye, ask for money  (all of which they are not suppose to do) but to be fair in general I think these people are some of the most loyal to their religion then any other (I know I’m setting myself up by saying that but it’s what I believe).

Monks to me are fair, polite, helpful and peaceful, all of which makes them seem so majestic in a way.  There are female monks as well, called nuns.  They have their heads shaven as well and wear a white robe instead of the orange.  Below are some pictures I got while in Cambodia, Malaysia and Thailand of monks from different areas.

I think if you travel very long in Asia that at some point something will get you that you can’t say no to.  It might be some wood carving you saw at the market, that you knew full well that you didn’t need and paid way too much for but couldn’t help yourself.  For a lot of farangs it might be that devil of a woman that you know is all wrong for you but you always go back to.  Maybe it’s something simple as a local dish that you can’t pass up without buying some.  For me it was a little girl at Angkor Wat, Cambodia.

After visiting about 6 temples that day, I was hot, tired and about done.  We had a few more to hit before calling it a day.  Cambodia over all for me was a great place and found the people fun, talkative and helpful.  I think sometimes you stereotype certain countries before arriving and I had heard about the beggars and kids there.  I sometimes give money out to beggars but I have some strict rules: (I know some will disagree with these but everyone is different I guess)

1. Never to males who are capable of working
2. If to kids, small amount but never to large groups of them, as it gets out of hand
3. I don’t like giving to mothers who use their babies as marketing tools… but I’ll be honest I have before
4. Never in a non-third world country (these people are just lazy)
5. …and to be honest I prefer to buy them a meal than give money

That being said you will undoubtedly, while in Asia, meet kids who aren’t begging but trying to sell you trinkets that are worthless.  This is a work around from just asking for money and in most cases I never do it.  I don’t buy souvenirs much and the ones I do are usually well thought out, as I have to pack them with me for no uncertain amount of time.  I understand why the kids do it and can’t blame them but I just try and stay clear from it, if at all possible.

Then you meet one that you just can’t say no to.  We were walking a long path to the temple that was about 300m long.  All day you kept getting hit with things from touts like “Mister you look hot, I think you need some water.  I have at good price!”  Guys wanting to sell you books, towels, sandals, postcards, ice cream, smokes, statues…you name it.  After a while you just go into invisible mode and start tuning them out.

She was about 6-7 years old, barefoot and selling bracelets.  ”Mr Mr, please please buy my bracelets I made for you.  5 for $1 please!”  I look down and knew I wanted to get a picture of her as she had such a cute face.  I didn’t want bracelets and said “No thank, no need.” but then instead of giving me some follow up response she just looked at me with this sad face… so sad that it broke my heart.  I couldn’t say no to her, I didn’t want the bracelets but I wanted a picture and found myself in a dilemma.  I wanted to buy her an ice cream or something but nothing was around.  There were a lot of kids around while this was happening and didn’t want to break rule #2.  But I couldn’t say no.

So I rationalized and said they would make great gifts for the aunties back home and pulled out my dollar.  I quickly added that I had to get a picture though too.  She seemed happy enough with that and nodded as she stood still for a few seconds while I snapped away.  The picture isn’t that great.  The focus is out of wack, the detail doesn’t do her justice, the lighting sucked, I had the wrong lens from what I would normally use and to be honest I didn’t react fast enough.  I only got a few quick shots before she ran off happy to go play again.  Sometimes you only get a few seconds to get that one shot and I missed it that day.  Although the picture isn’t technically sound it’s still a great picture I think and I decided to convert it to B&W because it makes things timeless.  For me I don’t think I will ever forget her face.  Like I said, at some point in Asia you just can’t say no to something so beautiful.  Thank God she wasn’t selling refrigerators!