APAD 062: A KHMER temple
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APAD 061: Winter melons in Cambodia
Took this photo using my old Kodak Instamatic camera. When the negatives were printed, most of the prints have this yellow colouring on them. I wonder why.
Winter melons look like cucumber, only they are larger in size and paler in skin (peeling). Often used as a vegetable when unripe (used in soups) and eaten as a fruit when it’s already ripe and sweet. Winter melons are commonly grown in rural Cambodia, especially those near the river banks.
APAD 060: Sleeping soundly under the shady tree
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APAD 057: Stop…..!!
This is the first Khmer word in Khmer script that I learned to read and write – “chhuop“, or stop.
It is composed of only 3 letters, with a symbol ‘. The third letter is “bo” (or letter b, it’s equivalent in the Roman alphabet). If it has the symbol ‘ written on top of that letter, it means it’s a short b (it pronounced almost sounding like the letter p). Anyways, please excuse my blabberings 🙂
I wonder though if these STOP/CHHUOP signs are installed on the streets, to compliment the red traffic lights, would some Khmer drivers actually stop from running on red lights? Just a thought.
APAD 055: Prey neak ta (forest spirit)
That is a spirit house placed auspiciously in a tree. It is built in the form of a miniature temple mounted on a pedestal. They’re actually seen everywhere you go in Cambodia – inside hotels, internet cafes, offices, factories, shops, and all houses in Cambodia have one.The idea is that it provides shelter to wandering spirits which could cause problems for the people if they are not appeased.
The above spirit house, on the other hand, was taken in Kep, a coastal town in Cambodia. It is for neak ta (local guardian spirit) because it’s left here by the tree and facing the sea . According to the locals, the trees and the sea are protected by neak ta. Hence, cutting the trees surrounding the spirit house is strictly prohibited. Here’s a paragraph I lifted from Andy Brouwer’s blog post on neak ta:
The cult of Neak Ta rests in nature. Local spirits inhabit mountains, rivers, trees, rice paddies, swamps and forests; even an odd shaped tree or rock can be inhabited by a local spirit. For Khmer, they are living, watching spirits of the land. Several types of supernatural entities are believed to exist, that make themselves known by means of inexplicable sounds or happenings. They are frequently asked for protection, as some are compliant, others are merciless against those who fail to show proper respect.
Visit Andy Brouwer’s blog to read more of neak ta and other Cambodian folklores.
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