Part of our Battambang visit included a visit to Phnom Sampow.
As with many historic sites in Cambodia, old legends are overlaid with newer stories and juxtaposed with recent events. One grim reminder of the not so distant past are the mountain’s caves which contain the bones of Khmer Rouge victims, whose demise is depicted in the painting below.
Below: tally of donations.
To avoid disturbing the bones they are now locked away in wire cages, and there is a small stupa at the bottom of one cave.
Generally the dead are cremated in Cambodia, but the remains of KR victims often are given a different treatment.
Tags: cambodia,khmer,battambang,tourism,khmer rouge
Posted in history, khmer rouge, photography | 1 Comment »
Visitors from the USA (Idea Czar and Multivore) arrived earlier this week, timing it just right for a slew of holidays. (3-day King’s Birthday celebration, Buddha’s birthday.)
After the hustle and bustle of India they found Cambodia to be a welcome change. We bused on out of a quiet Phnom Penh and herewith, a few pictures from Cambodia’s second largest city. (I’m wondering if we should label Battambang ‘Cambodia’s Chicago’. Any takers?)
Cassette culture ain’t dead! Above is an old-skool painted sign, the second is a more modern computer-designed version for the same store.
A small indication of change and modernization. Like many foreigners, I’m a fan of handmade art, and you can see many more at ‘Hand Painted Signs of Cambodia‘.
Below: high schools got some issues to work out. Full translation to follow.
(I will be doing some cropping and tweaking of photos back in Penhville. When in doubt, post it out!)
While in Battambang, you can avail yourself of a Khmer cooking class, which sees a meal through from buying the ingredients to serving it up! Tasty and fun to watch. Check your guidebook for ‘The Melting Pot’. Oh, and speaking of guidebooks, I managed to pick up Ray Zepp’s “Battambang and Around”, cheers to Andy Brouwer for sharing the info on this and many other travelers’ tips.
Tags: cambodia,food,battambang,sign
Posted in food, photography, signs, visual art, weblogs | 1 Comment »
Thom Thom has a DVD of their videos out.
It should be available at all the usual suspects in Phnom Penh – I’d try Gasolina or Carnets d’Asie First. Cheapskates can get a look at videos on Thom Thom‘s YouTube Channel.
http://www.youtube.com/user/Khmerthomthom
http://www.khmerthomthom.com
(Looks like the French Embassy lent a hand; if the USA Embassy’s cultural outreach is via hip-hop, and the French favor ‘indie-grunge’, what will the Chinese Embassy do? Hip Hop lite boy bands?)
Tags: cambodia,khmer,rock
Posted in music | No Comments »
The gift that keeps on giving.
Tags: cambodia,khmer,translation
Posted in Photo Wednesday | No Comments »
