APAD 126: The Cyclo
If you don’t know what a cyclo is or what it looks like, just click here and here.
APAD 124: Buddhist temple entrance
Sorry if I sound a bit like Indiana Jones or Lara Croft here but here’s a few more temple photos that I took in one of our road trips earlier this year. Remember Prasat Vihear Suor which I visited last February? If you had forgotten, here it is (please click the highlighted text).
We entered through a cement archway that is decorated with elephants and faces similar to that found at Bayon Temple. We could not stop the car by the entrance so I had to walk inside (looking out) to take a photo. Here is the result:
Archways like this are very typical of an entrance to Cambodian temples. They give you a sense that you are entering Buddha’s domain.
These statues of temple guards, called dvarapalas, and the creature they are holding is called a naga, the mythical seven-headed, miles-long serpent that is said to inhabit the waters of the great Mekong River.
Looking in the same direction, I went closer to the statues to my right and managed to get a close up shot of a dvarapala.
This should give you an idea how it looks like:
Looks grouchy; scary even, isn’t it? There must be a hundred of them on either sides of the road. I found out not all of these dvarapalas look the same. I kid you not. Here is another dvarapala, on the other side of the road.
Those soldiers are called dvarapalas and the creature they are holding is called a naga, the mythical seven-headed serpent that is said to inhabit the waters of the great Mekong River.
After our visit and on our way out, while my husband was waiting for a gap in the traffic, I hurriedly took this photo.
You can see the two seven-headed nagas being carried by the dvarapalas on both sides.
APAD 121: Suosdei Choul Chnnam Thmey!
… Happy New Year.
Yes. We just celebrated the Cambodian New Year over the weekend, April 14-16 to be precise. It is a three-day celebration, according to the lunar calendar. It is also a celebration of the end of the harvest season. Hence, it is a colourful, festive and fun celebration.
This year, we welcomed New Year on the early hours of Saturday (2amish). Drumbeats and prayers from the wats (temples) ushered the New Year as well as the new Thevadas (see photo). In Buddhism, they are sort of angels, if you like, who’ve come to replace the old ones guarding the Earth.
To know more about the festive Khmer New Year, please click this link.
APAD 120: Still empty
Here in our neighbourhood, most residents have not returned yet from their New Year’s holiday.
We cherish the remaining quiet moments. Sooner or later, they will return. So will the noise and regular flurry of activities.
APAD 119: Empty
Today is the third day of the Khmer New Year and the capital of Phnom Penh is still quiet.
My husband and I went out yesterday as our pantry needed to be re-stocked. Most of the shops are still closed – quite expected – so we had to drive downtown to find an open grocery. And we actually enjoyed the quiet drive downtown with only very few people and vehicles in sight.
While in the Cambodian countryside, the people are having huge celebrations and merry-makings during this three-day holiday, the streets in Phnom Penh are empty, if not eerie, and devoid of any traffic.
One lane at the Russian Boulevard, heading to the direction of Pochentong airport. Empty. I was so tempted to drive.
Here is the northern part of Mao Tse Tung Boulevard, several metres off the Russian Boulevard-Mao Tse Tung intersection. One can see the through the long road.
APAD 117: Noontime rush
All wanting to go home and no one’s giving way.
As a result we’re all stuck. Under the scorching sun.
When will they ever learn?
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