APAD 180: Monks walk
The sight of monks with shaved head (and eyebrows) clad in orange robes, and holding bright yellow umbrellas, never fail to catch my attention. These two I saw this morning are no exceptions. Every morning each day, Buddhist monks quietly go out of wats (pagodas, or temples), most of the times on bare feet, to their community to solicit or collect alms.
And how fast they walk, too!
These alms come in the form of food or other offerings. For the monks, this is the only food they will have for that day. They’re not allowed to have food till the next day again. For the devout Buddhists, it is one of the ways they can earn good merits, or karma, in other words.
APAD 179: Romorque
These girls are off to work travelling by romorque to the market to sell their produce. I had a good shot of them when they pulled over beside the tuk-tuk (another kind of romorque but differently built),
A romorque is a motorcycle pulling a trailer. It is most commonly used by the working class, especially outside Cambodia. The yellow sign is not related to my story today but serves as part of the photo’s background.
APAD 177: Dress up, dress down
Oops, I’m not Wordless again so please excuse.
Two Saturdays ago, my husband and I set out on a market tour… and we had Olympic Market in our sights. To those who don’t know, shopping here in Cambodia is quite an adventure, a treat for the senses, and Olympic Market didn’t disappoint us.
The Olympic Market is a three-storey building located near the Olympic Stadium, hence the name… It houses hundreds of small shops and stalls that form a dizzying maze. However, it is one of the best places to find nice fabrics, including Cambodian silk, wholesale goods, traditional Khmer dresses as well as imported ones from China, Hongkong, Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.
Once inside this maze-like market, we didn’t know where we were going or where we’d end up but that was part of the adventure! As we walked around, climbing the stairs up and back down again, there were so much for our eyes to take in. If only taking photos wasn’t attracting too much unwanted attention, I would have taken tons!
Here are but two photos.
This is just one of the shops inside Olympic market that sells RTWs (ready-to-wear). These are Cambodian party dresses. They are pretty and colourful and a bit over-the-top with the beadworks and glitters. I wanted to pick one to wear for the looming board meeting just to see the reaction of the board members to the new girl in the office! Lol. Of course I am kidding!
I also found some mannequins “werking” there.
There’s something about them. The longer I stare at them, the more they creeped me out.
APAD 176: Phnom Penh skyscraper
This is the Vattanac Tower in Monivong Boulevard, Phnom Penh. It is, as of this writing, the tallest building in the city. With the tower rising at 188-metre (617 ft), this 39-storey building is one of the few high-rise buildings in Cambodia.
This building will house serviced apartments, retail and office spaces, a rooftop outdoor bar and a parking space. To be honest, the shape is just weird. It looks like a giant standing duck with its protruding beak. On some days, I also think it looks like a giant ski boot.
APAD 175: Budhhism
Sooooorry for the lack of posts.
I now have a job and it’s been full on!
I know it’s just a matter of getting myself organised so, please bear with me for the moment.
This painting caught my attention while on Street 178 near the National Museum. Street 178 is known as the Art Street. There the road is lined with local art galleries and sculpture shops.
It shows an enlightened Buddha, sitting and surrounded by disciples, shortly after he reached Nirvana.
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