MangoVine
Adventures in East Asia

Entries in Culture

 10 December, 2009
Thursday Photographing Monks in Cambodia
Around Cambodia (and also Thailand), monks seemed to be fairly common around the temple sights and town streets. There's no reason why not. At Angkor Wat, we were told that some live there, as well as in Siem Reap town, and visiting temples is as much a pastime for them, if not a little more spiritual, as it is for tourists.

Phnom-Bakheng9

However, its fairly obvious after spending a short time in the country that tourists love to photograph monks. It may be because in our own countries, they're simply not as common, and the striking orange robes are certainly photogenic. I can't say any different for myself though, as I took plenty of monk subjects when the opportunities arose. The orange is a great colour against the backdrop of the ruins.

Read more... 10 December, 2009
Thursday Cambodian Two Wheeled Transport
Like their Vietnamese neighbours, the Cambodians use their wheels to carry all sorts of stuff. Ok, well, the ones that I snapped didn't always use two wheels, but sometimes four. I suspect it will take a few days of staring before I finally stop finding these transporters to be compelling viewing. I mean, look at all these bananas!

Cambodian-Wheels4

Read more... 10 December, 2009
Thursday How the Cambodians Easily Catch Crickets
Whilst on the road, our tuk tuk driver quickly pointed out these hanging sheets and said "crickets" as we sped past them. I whizzed out my trusty DSLR and snapped them. Turns out that these simple contraptions are an ingenious method for capturing crickets. No doubt for serving up, crispy-fried, to tourists as were in Bangkok.

Cricket-Catchers

Read more... 09 December, 2009
Wednesday Filling up Petrol in Cambodia
To me, even the most mundane thing can be beautiful. Seeing the rows of differently coloured petrol sparked this thought, even though it was just a detail of our visit to Cambodia - a moment when our tuk-tuk driver pulled over to fill up.

Filling-Up4

These petrol stalls are scattered about the roads and seem to point to small scale entrepreneurism along with other stalls selling other goods.

Read more... 08 December, 2009
Tuesday Cambodian Land Mine Museum and Relief Facility
The Cambodian Land Mine Museum wasn't on our list of places to see, but as we were passing close by, our guide asked us if we wanted to have a look. He mentioned that it's a place that's quite significant in the history of his country so we thought we'd stop by.

Land-Mine-Museum1

As it happened, the museum is quite a small facility and also houses a number of children in grounds at the back who have suffered because of land mines. We ended up staying for more than an hour, becoming absorbed in the exhibits and stories that were told on the walls.

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