We had to travel for almost an hour by tuk-tuk to reach Banteay Srei. The moment I saw the entrance of the temple, I was immediately awed by the beauty of its structure and colour. The time spent travelling was definitely worth it.

Banteay Srei is one of the most unusual temples of Angkor. It lies 20 km due north of the main group. Banteay Srei stands out from the other temples in Angkor because it is built largely of red sandstone, which is covered with elaborate and deeply carved decoration.

Consecrated in 967, Banteay Srei was the only major temple at Angkor not built for the king; instead it was constructed by one of king Rajendravarman’s counsellors, Yajnyavahara. The temple was primarily dedicated to Shiva. The temple was subject to further expansion and rebuilding work in the eleventh century. At some point it came under the control of the king and had its original dedication changed; an inscription of the early twelfth century records the temple being given to the priest Divarakapandita and being rededicated to Shiva. It remained in use at least until the fourteenth century.

Banteay Srei’s style is a mix of the archaic and the innovative. It is built largely of red sandstone, with brick and laterite used only for the enclosure walls and some structural elements. Although Banteay Srei’s coloration is unique, sandstone of other shades was later to become the norm. 

Decoration covering almost every available surface is deeply sculpted and figures rounded.

A portrait of a friendly old lady at Banteay Srei.

Well, there are more pictures here if you want to take a look!

..will she scold me?

Due to the Taiwan earthquake, it was practically impossible for me to update my cambodia trip (because of the huge number of photos). So, I got trigger-happy when I saw this lady queuing for bus in front of me and secretly snapped a picture. I even had to fake a cough to cover the hp-camera’s "Chikeee" sound. Yeah, playful, I know. But I didn’t take the face, so it was ok, yah?

*Such a shot in the photography world is called "Street/Candid Photography", capturing something that is out of ordinary or things that you don’t get to see in the everyday life. This entry doesn’t condemn or mock at girls who wear such tees. So don’t come scold me ok? Lol..

After 2 days in Phnom Penh, we set off on a bus journey to Siem Reap. Siem Reap is a small charming gateway town to the world famous heritage, the Angkor temples.

The Bayon is a temple at Angkor. It was built in the 13th century as the state temple of king Jayavarman VII, and stands at the centre of his capital, Angkor Thom. Its most distinctive feature is the multitude of smiling faces on the tower that rise up to its central peak.

The Bayon was the last state temple to be built in Angkor, and the only one to be built primarily as a Mahayana Buddhist temple.

It was the centrepiece of Jayavarman VII’s building program, and the similarity of the faces on the temple’s towers to other statues of the king have led many scholars to the conclusion that the faces are, at least in part, representations of Jayavarman VII.

The walls of the temple are crafted with galleries that depict a series of historical and everyday scenes. It is quite impressive how the people in earlier days could actually possess such great skills and perseverance to sculpt the endless walls in the temple into such beautiful galleries.

Below are more pictures from Bayon. You can view the whole gallery here.  

A shot at the inside of the tall tower. Observe how the stones are stacked all the way to the top! 

That’s all for today, folks!  

After posting 2 depressing entries earlier on, you would be glad to know that this entry will be a joyful one.

One of the advantages of doing a backpacking trip is that you can go to places where guided tour packages may not bring you to. After our trip to the Killing Fields, we requested our tuk-tuk driver, Sakoor, to bring us to a nearby village primary school. We thought that it would be a good idea to buy something small for some of the kids in the school, so we dropped off at the nearby market area as seen in the picture above. This is the road that we usually travel on. All sand and no tar (read dusty!).

This is the "wet" portion of the market. It actually looks quite the same as some of the wet markets in Singapore, agree? Anyway, we decided to get pencils for the little students in the school, and managed to buy 40 pieces. These pencils are those cartridge-type ones, which the shop seller claimed them to be the children’s ‘hot favourite’.

So here we were, at the primary school compound. I didn’t get the name of the school though. All the buildings are single-storey, and there are quite a number of classrooms, so I guess it’s pretty big for a village school. Guess who we met first in this school?

These adorable kids! I presume they were let off earlier from lessons since they were roaming around the compound before they spotted us. However, after they acknowledged our presence, they just kept following us behind! Cute! Haha..

I couldn’t help but to snap more pictures of them. They just love being photographed.. and you should see their expressions when I show them their photos on my camera’s review lcd screen. All of them were so excited to see themselves in the magical black box! I can’t seem to find the right words to describe their "happy-go-lucky" character, but it always brings a smile to my face whenever I picture them in my head now.  

So, we started walking along the corridors of the classrooms.. and I think we managed to stop all the kids from paying attention to their lessons! See how the little children turned towards us? I wondered what they were thinking.

When we walked past the second classroom, some of the kids started smiling and waving to us. I really enjoyed their innocence and friendliness.

And on to the third classroom. Ahh, I like this class! As soon as we walked near the door, the teacher requested the students to greet us, and all of them immediately placed their hands together and made a slight bow! Well-mannered, very likeable and adorable. I went in for a few seconds to snap a few pictures of them, and they were delighted.

See how they waved goodbye to us when we left them?

So, the group of us eventually decided to give the pencils to the third class. However, the class size was quite huge and we didn’t have enough pencils to give to everyone.

Fortunately, there is a school bookshop behind the classrooms! We bought more pencils from them after a bit of bargaining. (See those little kids watching us buying the pencils? I told you they were following us everywhere!)

As we walked back to the third classroom, students from other classes were all gathering at the side windows to look at us. We acknowledged their curiosity and waved to them. For a moment, I felt like a celebrity.

And so, we returned to the classroom. The kids must have been wondering what we were up to! We got the permission from their teacher and started distributing the pencils. I tell you, they are super polite! Upon receiving the pencils, each of them would place their hands together again and bow their heads to thank us. I could tell from their eyes that they really appreciated our gesture, and that really made my day.

So, it was time for us to go. But not before taking a final picture! I walked myself up the front platform, and gestured to the kids to wave their hands in the air while holding the pencils (they don’t understand English yet). See how enthusiastic they are? My friends and I truly enjoyed ourselves a lot.

Time to go… and they are still following us!!

Ok ok.. wave goodbye.. farewell, little ones.. thanks for the hospitality!!  

S-21 (stands for Security Office 21) was originally a high school since 1962. In May 1976, when the Khmer Rouge was in power, it was converted into Angkar’s premier security institution, specifically designed for the interrogation and extermination of anti-Angkar elements (Angkar means commander). There were many similar prisons located at other parts of of Phnom Penh at that time.

All the classrooms of this former high school were converted into prison cells. Windows were enclosed by iron bars and covered with tangled barbed wire to prevent possible escape by prisoners.

The classrooms on the ground floor were divided into small cells, 0.8 x 2 meters each, designed for single prisoners. 

From the picture above, you can see the bed frame and some iron bars on it. The iron bars were used to shackle one or both legs of each prisoner. By doing so, the Khmer Rouge could ensure that their prisoners were unable to make any escape.

The rooms on the top floors of all four buildings (as seen above), each measuring 8 x 6 meters, were used as mass prison cells. On the middle floors of these buildings, cells were built to hold female prisoners.

There were a lot of workers in the S-21 complex, totalling a number of 1,720. These workers are categorised into four main units: Internal workforce, Office personnel, Interrogation unites and General workers. Most of the "general workers" were under confinement.

Within each unit, there were several sub-units composed of male and female children ranging from 10 to 15 years of age. These young children were trained and selected by the KR regime to work as guards. Most of them started out as normal before growing increasingly evil. They were exceptionally cruel and disrespectful toward the presoners and their elders.

The above picture shows iron bars of different lengths used to mass-shackle the prisoners. The short iron bar was about 0.8 meters up to 1 meter long, and was designed for 4 prisoners. The longer one was 6 meters, and held 20 to 30 prisoners. Prisoners were fixed to the iron bar on alternating sides, so they had to sleep with their heads in opposite directions.

Every morning at 4:30am, all prisoners were told to remove their shorts, down to the ankles, for inspection by prison staff. Then they were told to do some physical exercise just by moving their hands and legs up and down for half an hour, even though their legs remained restrained by iron bars.

The prisoners had to defecate into small iron buckets and urinate into small plastic buckets kept in their cells. They were required to ask for permission from the prison guards in advance of relieving themselves; otherwise they would be beaten or receive 20 to 60 strokes with a whip as punishment. In each cell, the regulations were posted on small pieces of black board. The regulations read as follows:

1. You must answer accordingly to my questions. Do not turn them away.

2. Do not try to hide the facts by making pretexts of this and that. You are strictly prohibited to contest me.

3. Do not be a fool for you are a chap who dares to thwart the revolution.

4. You must immediately answer my questions without wasting time to reflect.

5. Do not tell me either about your immoralities or the revolution.

6. While getting lashes or electrification you must not cry at all.

7. Do nothing. Sit still and wait for my orders. If there is no order, keep quiet. When I ask you to do something, you must do it right away without protesting.

8. Do not make pretexts about Kampuchea Krom in order to hide your jaw of traitor.

9. If you do not follow all the above rules, you shall get many lashes of electric wire.

10. If you disobey any point of my regulations you shall get either ten lashes or five shocks of electric discharge. 

Because of such regulations, the inmates were frequently severely beaten. Bathing was irregular, allowed only once every two or three days, and sometimes once a fortnight. Unhygienic living conditions caused the prisoners to become infected with diseases like skin rashes and various other diseases. There was no medicine for treatment.

In the wake of its renovation following the fall of the Khmer Rouge regime, Tuol Sleng, the historical museum of genocide under the Khmer Rouge regime, opened in 1980 and welcomes the public to come and visit. About 50 people visit the museum on an average day.  Once they come to the Kingdom of Cambodia, tourists seldom miss visiting this horrifying educational site.

Above picture shows the mug shots of the little children being held prisoners at S-21. 

The above pictures are just few of the many mug shots of the genocide victims taken during the Khmer Rouge regime. Other pictures on display (like the one below) show evidence of the brutality the Khmer Rouge used to torture and exterminate their prisoners.

Yet another collection of skulls of the victims in S-21. 

Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum hopes to preserve "S-21" as a reminder not only of Cambodia’s recent history but of the inhumanity that sometimes overwhelms ordinary human beings.  

On our second day in Phnom Penh, we visited the Killing Fields of Cheung Ek by tuk-tuk. This part of the tour was quite a solemn one. As our hired guide unfolded the cruel deeds that the Khmer Rouge once commited here, I couldn’t help but felt for the poor victims that died here.

Killing Fields of Cheung Ek is situated 15 kilometres south-west of Phnom Penh, and it was a place where more than 17,000 civilians, adults and little children, were killed and buried in mass grave; many of them transported here after detention and torture in Toul Sleng (S-21 prison camp).

The above picture shows a Buddhist stupa. This stupa has acrylic glass sides and is filled with more than 5,000 human skulls (from the victims that were killed here). It was opened to tourists, so I had a chance to step in to see the skulls that are being displayed at various levels.

We could see some skulls being shattered or having cracks or holes. From observing the skulls, researchers were able to tell how the Khmer Rouge tortured the civilians to death. Blunt objects were used to hack repeatedly on the heads, holes were drilled into the skulls, or simply bullets were shot into the heads until the victims died. These were few of the many brutal methods in which the Khmer Rouge applied to silence the innocence.

As we left the stupa and moved on to other areas of the Killing Fields, we came across these bones and tattered clothes (above) on the ground. They were being dug out from the ground that Khmer Rouge used to exhume the bodies after the assinations. When we were walking on the soil, we could easily see traces of white coloured bones half-revealed on the surface of the ground.

The curvatures on the ground that you see in the above picture might be pleasant looking, but they are not. Buried skulls and bones were dug up from the ground, leaving these pits as they are. During the days of Pol Pot regime, bodies were just thrown into these mass graves. Till today, no one is able to give an accurate figure of how many people were being killed and buried here, although it was estimated that around 2 million Cambodians around the country died by starvation, torture or execution during their rule.

This shed was a mass grave of more than 100 children and women victims, whom majority were naked at the time of death. 

This shed which looks similar to the one above was a mass grave of 166 victims without heads. Presumably, their heads were chopped off and might have been thrown into the river beside this killing field.

Quoted from a signboard near the entrance of the Killing Fields:

The Most Tragic

Even in this 20th century, on Kampuchean soil the clique of Pol Pot criminals had committed a heinous genocidal act. They massacred the population with atrocity in a large scale. It was more cruel than the genocidal act committed by the Hitler Fascists, which the world has never met.

With the commemorative stupa in front of us, we imagine that we are hearing the grievous voice of the victims who were beaten by Pol Pot men with canes, bamboo stumps or heads of hoes. Who were stabbed with knives or swords we seem to be looking at the horrifying scenes and the panic. Stricken faces of the people who were dying of starvation, forced labour or torture without mercy upon the skinny body, they died without giving the last words to their kith and kin. How hurtful those victims were when they got beaten with canes, heads of hoes and stabbed with knives or swords before their last breath went out. How bitter they were when seeing their beloved children, wives, husbands, brothers or sisters were seized and tightly bound before being taken to the mass grave!

While they were waiting for their turn to come and share the same tragic lot.

The method of massacre which the clique of Pol Pot criminals was carried upon the innocent people of Kampuchea cannot be described fully and clearly in words because the invention of this killing method was strangely creul so it is difficult for us to determine who they are for: They have the human form but their hearts are demon’s hearts, they have got the Khmer face but their activities are purely reactionary. They wanted to transform Campuchean people into a group of persons without reason or a group who knew and understood nothing, who always bent their heads to carry out Ankar’s orders blindly. They had educated and transformed young people and the adolescent whose hearts are pure, gentle and modest into odious executioners who dared to kill the innocent and even their own parents, relatives or friends.

They had burnt the market place, abolished monetary system, eliminated books of rules and principles of national culture, destroyed schools, hospitals, pagodas and beautiful monuments such as Angkor Wat temple which is the source of pure national pride and bears the genius, knowledge and intelligence of our nation.

They were trying hard to get rid of Khmer character and transform the soil and wateres of Kampuchea into a sea of blood and tears which was deprived of cultural infra-structure, civilisation and national character, became a desert of great destruction that overturned the Kampuchean society and drove it back on the stone age. 

My heart goes out to the innocent victims who had suffered and died during the cruel years of Pol Pot regime. 

On the 12th of December morning, my friends and I arrived in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Phnom Penh is the largest, most populous and capital city of Cambodia. Once known as the Pearl of Asia in the 1920s, this city is a significant global and domestic tourist destination in Cambodia.

We did not explore too much in Phnom Penh on our first day. For us,it was more of getting used to the climate and environment here. If you’ve never been to any developing countries before, you would be awed by the way the locals travel in their vehicles. At first, traffic appeared to be unusually disorderly, with vast number of motocycles cutting in and out of different lanes. But after awhile, you’ll be used to their mode of travelling here. Horns are sounded very often when car drivers behind need to warn the motorists in front, but there isn’t any need to worry about anything at all.

We were on our way to our guesthouse when we drove past this tuk-tuk. It is basically a carriage attached to a motocycle, and it is a common form of transport for big groups of people. In fact, the 6 of us would squeeze into such tuk-tuk to travel in the day during our second day here!

The more common form of transport for the locals would be by motorcycles. In Singapore, you only see at most 2 riders on one bike. Clearly, from the picture, you can comment that our fellow Singaporeans have under-utilised their motorcycles! It is not unusual to see 3-4 people travelling on a bike in Cambodia. The most number of people we’ve seen on one bike was 5, one being a newborn baby.  

The people here seem to be very skilled on motorbikes. Apart from transporting people, many of them use it to transport heavy goods as well. It was unfortunate that I didn’t get to capture more interesting shots of them transporting stuff like bananas and mattresses, but it is eye-opening to discover how they make the most out of everything they have!

After our lunch, we walked to the central market nearby. It is fairly big, and offers a lot of goods such as eyewear, hats, bags and clothes. Being a country that practises Buddhism, there are also a lot of Budda statues and paintings for sale. 

Directly above is a picture of the central market taken across the street. Although there isn’t any clear markings, what you see in front of the market is actually a big road for vehicles to travel. In Cambodia, you have to cross the road without traffic light or zebra crossing. As long as you dare to cross, the oncoming vehicles would slow down for you so as to notknock you down. Pretty cool?

This is what I’ve for today, I will probably write about the Killing Fields and S-21 prison camp in my next entry. Wait for it!!  

This picture was taken during sunset at the lake just outside Angkor Wat. The five cambodian kids were having lots of fun jumping off the stone edge into the lake, and I got lucky enough to capture a shot like this. The children there are very friendly, cheerful and live a carefree life. 

I’m finally back from my Cambodia+Thailand trip! It was a really exciting and enriching trip, although a little sore throat and stomach upset along the way stole away some fun. Nevertheless, it was a good holiday to end off my 2006, and I’ve certainly brought home lots of memories! I’m so tired now, and I can foresee a lot of work coming my way soon.. so I’m gonna take my own sweet time to post-process my pictures and put them up when I’m free. So stay tuned!

Hey peeps!! After 2 months plus of waiting, I’ll finally be flying off to Cambodia in 7 hours’ time! This would be a short backpacking trip of 10 days, first arriving at Phnom Penh, then moving up to Siem Reap before crossing the borders to get through to Thailand. If everything goes as planned, I will be staying in Bangkok for a couple of nights before going to our last destination, Kanchanaburi.

I really hope to enjoy this last part of my December holidays with my colleagues before a new school year begins.. Meanwhile, you guys and girls, enjoy yourselves too! I’ll bring back nice pictures to show you people, yah?

Haha, if you’ve noticed you would have realised that I’ve added a new category, Running, in my blog. It’s pretty funny how I grew to enjoy running recently. It all started after I got so moody one friday night, that I decided to go for a run. And a long run it was, having covered a distance of 10 km, from Amk all the way to Ubi Ave and then U-turned back for a distance.

So, from then on, I’ve decided to make running a frequent exercise, partly because I need to clear my IPPT soon, and also that I’ve suddenly enjoyed running on the road.

Today, I met up with a friend, a female one, but married one (just in case xy,yw or xm thinks too much again ) for a long run. We started off in Amk, got past Bishan Park, headed on to Thomson Plaza, Macritchie Reservoir, Adams Road and finally ended up in Holland Village. A cool 14 km! Probably a few more sessions and I’ll hit my 20km target!

My friend and I were dead exhausted, and since I’ve already planned to have my dinner at NYDC, we wasted no time settling in that restaurant (or cafe?) and ordered our food. Yum.. nothing beats a good meal after a tiring run! 

My friend’s sandwich meal

My baked rice

Haha, nice huh? Ok.. I gotta go rest soon.. am going to be a "wedding photographer" in the day time tomorrow.. *shudders*.. I’m afraid I’m incompetent!