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| Photo Class |
Friday, October 31, 2008
Pictures from Perin's Photography Class
Last weekend I took an "impressionist" photography course. We learned some really neat techniques by using different lenses and various household products (vaseline, chapstick and hairspray). All of the pictures in the attached album are actual photos. None of the pictures have been altered on the computer. I hope you enjoy my artistic approach to photography!
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Market Fatigue
In travelling through Europe, one is at first fascinated by all the cathedrals: the architecture, the stained glass windows, the art displayed in them and the religious art in the all the museums. But as one visits more and more of them, one becomes fatigued. Same thing happens in SE Asia while walking around. "Oh look, cheap deals on stuff," soon becomes, "I'm not buying anything from you. Please direct me to ice cream."
Which they don't have much of here:( A suitable replacement: fresh squeezed sugar cane juice (3 parts) and fresh squeezed orange juice (one part) over ice. And they fire up a generator to power the sugar cane crushing machine, so it has power tools involved with its creation. SO GOOD.
We are in Saigon now, and it is by far the most cosmopolitan of anywhere we've been on this trip. Crazy busy and dense like New York. Except take all the cars, sextuple the number, and add that many scooters and motorcycles. Remove road rules and prohibitions like "correct side of the road," driving against traffic or on the sidewalk. Everything is high rise here and there are far fewer merchants of touristy stuff. They sell exercise machines, have far more beauty salons, and child care, so that means they're much better off with more disposable income.
Went to the War Remnants Museum here this morning. It was very interesting to see the war from the Vietnamese point of view. The deformed fetuses from Agent Orange and the combat situations in that terrible mud were the worst. I met a guy who lost both arms from the elbows down, one eye, and one leg and bought some post cards from him. A ripoff, but it did buy some guilt away after just walking through that place.
My main question is: What's up with software stores and internet cafes having numerous fish for sale too? It's like you can't work with technology without also working with a large number of fish. Interesting, but not as interesting as finding out where the ice cream is. Let the search resume!
Which they don't have much of here:( A suitable replacement: fresh squeezed sugar cane juice (3 parts) and fresh squeezed orange juice (one part) over ice. And they fire up a generator to power the sugar cane crushing machine, so it has power tools involved with its creation. SO GOOD.
We are in Saigon now, and it is by far the most cosmopolitan of anywhere we've been on this trip. Crazy busy and dense like New York. Except take all the cars, sextuple the number, and add that many scooters and motorcycles. Remove road rules and prohibitions like "correct side of the road," driving against traffic or on the sidewalk. Everything is high rise here and there are far fewer merchants of touristy stuff. They sell exercise machines, have far more beauty salons, and child care, so that means they're much better off with more disposable income.
Went to the War Remnants Museum here this morning. It was very interesting to see the war from the Vietnamese point of view. The deformed fetuses from Agent Orange and the combat situations in that terrible mud were the worst. I met a guy who lost both arms from the elbows down, one eye, and one leg and bought some post cards from him. A ripoff, but it did buy some guilt away after just walking through that place.
My main question is: What's up with software stores and internet cafes having numerous fish for sale too? It's like you can't work with technology without also working with a large number of fish. Interesting, but not as interesting as finding out where the ice cream is. Let the search resume!
Thursday, October 23, 2008
In Phnom Penh now
The second day in Angkor was great too. We went back to Bayon, then visited Ta Prohm which has the most intricate stone carvings in the world. We saw some other great places too, but those were the best.
I've become a huge proponet of the Siesta. It's way too hot here to do anything between 10am and 3pm. We get up early, do stuff until lunch time, then head back to the room with AC for naps everyday. It's the only way to go.
We ended up taking a bus instead of the ferry to Phnom Penh, because even though they take the same amount of time, the bus is air conditioned and the ferry has no AC, is more expensive, and is overcrowded. Then we rode our bikes through Phnom Penh and found a place to stay on the waterfront. First thing we did when we arrived? Musuems, the royal palace? Nope - we went and shot machine guns, playing our part in the "ammunition reduction plan" in Cambodia. The M60 was very fun to shoot, but it jammed a lot and I wouldn't ever want to depend on it!
Went out for dinner and from our balcony, we watched the torrential rain pour and the thunder and lightning show. It was amazing.
Today, we went to the killing fields and S-21. The killing fields are the mass graves filled by the Khmer Rouge and that was definitely depressing. Afterwards, we went to the highschool converted by the Khmer Rouge to torture people to death. More people died in the Nazi Holocaust, but here all victims were tortured to death individually, each over the course of many days. And the torturers were all children between 10-14, trained to be exceptionally cruel.
Whooo! So we went back, took naps, and went to find some internet. We leave tomorrow morning for Ho Chi Minh city, so that will be good.
I've become a huge proponet of the Siesta. It's way too hot here to do anything between 10am and 3pm. We get up early, do stuff until lunch time, then head back to the room with AC for naps everyday. It's the only way to go.
We ended up taking a bus instead of the ferry to Phnom Penh, because even though they take the same amount of time, the bus is air conditioned and the ferry has no AC, is more expensive, and is overcrowded. Then we rode our bikes through Phnom Penh and found a place to stay on the waterfront. First thing we did when we arrived? Musuems, the royal palace? Nope - we went and shot machine guns, playing our part in the "ammunition reduction plan" in Cambodia. The M60 was very fun to shoot, but it jammed a lot and I wouldn't ever want to depend on it!
Went out for dinner and from our balcony, we watched the torrential rain pour and the thunder and lightning show. It was amazing.
Today, we went to the killing fields and S-21. The killing fields are the mass graves filled by the Khmer Rouge and that was definitely depressing. Afterwards, we went to the highschool converted by the Khmer Rouge to torture people to death. More people died in the Nazi Holocaust, but here all victims were tortured to death individually, each over the course of many days. And the torturers were all children between 10-14, trained to be exceptionally cruel.
Whooo! So we went back, took naps, and went to find some internet. We leave tomorrow morning for Ho Chi Minh city, so that will be good.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Techno Bum
While my post does not include any exciting Asian adventures, I thought I would share a quick note on what I am calling the "techno bum".
Today, as I headed across the city I saw a bum, clothed only in a ratty blanket. His hair amess, no shoes, no shirt and I'm hoping, though I didn't check, that he was wearing underwear. But the difference between him and other bums was that along with his impoverished garbs, lack of home and general "mentally insane nature" he was listening to a bright and shiny iPod.
Yes, you read that correctly, no clothes, no shoes, but he had his music!
Today, as I headed across the city I saw a bum, clothed only in a ratty blanket. His hair amess, no shoes, no shirt and I'm hoping, though I didn't check, that he was wearing underwear. But the difference between him and other bums was that along with his impoverished garbs, lack of home and general "mentally insane nature" he was listening to a bright and shiny iPod.
Yes, you read that correctly, no clothes, no shoes, but he had his music!
Angkor Wat is awesome
Yesterday we got up at 6am to see sunrise at Angkor Wat. Rode our bikes there and while morning isn't as hot as midday, it is much more humid. Our sunglasses were unable because of the thick mist constantly present on them. I've never been to the pyramids, but I think the Angkor complex could definitely be much more impressive.
Angkor means "capital"and wat means "temple." The name isn't very significant, but the wat is very impressive. The moat surrounding it is the largest in the world - something like 1.5km on each side and 1km wide. It is the largest religious building in the world. The intricate carvings and depictions of Buddhist and Hindu lore are pretty cool. My favorite? The Battle of Lanka where Rama along with his army of monkeys, battles 10-headed, 20-armed Ravana, seducer of Rama's wife. Ravana rides a monster-drawn chariot and has an army of giants. That bas relief is one of many, and is almost 500m long.
The Angkor complex is enormous and has hundreds of wats nearby. We planned to see some more, but by 9am the heat was getting oppressive. Rode back to the guesthouse, took showers, turned on the air conditioning and took naps. Went to lunch at the Butterfly Gardens - a do-gooder business that pays children for butterflies they capture so they can pay for school. At the same time, they train impoverished youths hospitality and cooking skills.
They wash all their vegetables in spring water so we got a Khmer salad - so delicious because we haven't eaten vegatables in a while, PLUS it had a fried hard boiled egg on top. Genius. We really loaded up on food there but the other thing that was super delicious there were cashews fried with minced onion, chili power and lime juice. I'm bringing that recipe home!
Went back to the AC to watch Cambodian MTV (every video has karaoke sing along words) and out again at sunset to see Bayon Wat which was also very impressive: 54 tours with 4 Buddha heads on each for a total of 216. The sunlight was a little low for pictures so we went out for pizza in town. Delicious! Went to bed early so we could get up at sunrise again.
Learned the whole history of the Cambodia and the Khmer people. I didn't really know anything about them before. Quick summary: the Khmer people ruled all of SE Asia from Vietnam to Thailand and Burma before the Mongol hordes drove those nations to attack Cambodia. They reached the height of their civilization in 13th century which was when many of the temples were built. They slowly lost power over the centuries from others attacking and taking land. Which leads us to French colonization, Cambodian independence, the fall of the pro-Western government when the US pulls out of Vietnam, the rise of the Khmer Rouge, years of civil war and Vietnam conquering Cambodia, then pulling out. And they been rebuilding as best they can ever since.
Also, nagas are the best. They are seven-headed serpents. If you're ever looking for a good gift for me.....
Angkor means "capital"and wat means "temple." The name isn't very significant, but the wat is very impressive. The moat surrounding it is the largest in the world - something like 1.5km on each side and 1km wide. It is the largest religious building in the world. The intricate carvings and depictions of Buddhist and Hindu lore are pretty cool. My favorite? The Battle of Lanka where Rama along with his army of monkeys, battles 10-headed, 20-armed Ravana, seducer of Rama's wife. Ravana rides a monster-drawn chariot and has an army of giants. That bas relief is one of many, and is almost 500m long.
The Angkor complex is enormous and has hundreds of wats nearby. We planned to see some more, but by 9am the heat was getting oppressive. Rode back to the guesthouse, took showers, turned on the air conditioning and took naps. Went to lunch at the Butterfly Gardens - a do-gooder business that pays children for butterflies they capture so they can pay for school. At the same time, they train impoverished youths hospitality and cooking skills.
They wash all their vegetables in spring water so we got a Khmer salad - so delicious because we haven't eaten vegatables in a while, PLUS it had a fried hard boiled egg on top. Genius. We really loaded up on food there but the other thing that was super delicious there were cashews fried with minced onion, chili power and lime juice. I'm bringing that recipe home!
Went back to the AC to watch Cambodian MTV (every video has karaoke sing along words) and out again at sunset to see Bayon Wat which was also very impressive: 54 tours with 4 Buddha heads on each for a total of 216. The sunlight was a little low for pictures so we went out for pizza in town. Delicious! Went to bed early so we could get up at sunrise again.
Learned the whole history of the Cambodia and the Khmer people. I didn't really know anything about them before. Quick summary: the Khmer people ruled all of SE Asia from Vietnam to Thailand and Burma before the Mongol hordes drove those nations to attack Cambodia. They reached the height of their civilization in 13th century which was when many of the temples were built. They slowly lost power over the centuries from others attacking and taking land. Which leads us to French colonization, Cambodian independence, the fall of the pro-Western government when the US pulls out of Vietnam, the rise of the Khmer Rouge, years of civil war and Vietnam conquering Cambodia, then pulling out. And they been rebuilding as best they can ever since.
Also, nagas are the best. They are seven-headed serpents. If you're ever looking for a good gift for me.....
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Hey, man, you don't talk to the Colonel. You listen to him. The man's enlarged my mind. He's a poet-warrior in the classic sense.
We rode our bikes from Aranyaprathet to the border on some very nice paved roads. And then we got to the razor wire and mud roads. When you depart the Thai border, you're in a no man's land packed with casinos. Since gambling is illegal in Thailand, this is a hot tourist destination. Like a humid, muddy Vegas.
But there were several men from the Cambodian Cultural Affairs office who helped us fill out all of our paperwork and told us which lines to stand in for the fastest service and what to give to each station when clearing the Cambodian side. VERY helpful and friendly, so that was great. When we got to the Cambodian customs guy, he was very thorough and spoke some English. However, his English seemed to be limited to quotes from _Apocalypse Now_ and that was super creepy!
The road was unbelievably terrible beginning right away. It was a rocky dirt road covered in a super slick mud slime that smelled bad. Andrew's tires have some knobs to them, but mine are pretty much road tires only. With all my equipment on the back and unequal weight distribution, I was sliding all over the place and using all of my concentration not to get hit by any cars and more importantly, not to fall into that rancid mud.
Our tires kicked up a ton of mud and we were soon covered. But I didn't fall! After about a kilometer, it dried out and we were on a "regular" poorly maintained dirt road. We didn't stop to take any pictures because we were afraid we wouldn't be able to start pedaling again. And we didn't want to even step in that mud. Picture ops we missed: a hospital sign with a blue cross on it. Instead of the snake being coiled around the Staff of Asclepius, it was coiled around a martini glass. And a truck with rice sacks piled up 30ft high, and lots of people on top of that!
We went about 60 miles today in the heat and humidity today. It was very interesting to see the countryside, but we consumed prodigious quantities of water. Every time we stopped (once an hour) we were covered in sweat. I've never experienced anything like that before. When we were moving, the breeze was enough to keep us dryish. But when we stopped, we poured sweat. I don't think the pictures will do it justice.
Fortunately for us, almost 40miles of what we rode today was freshly paved. It made for much more pleasant riding and since the road was so wide, we could ride side-by-side.
We planned to ride half-way to Siemreab and then get a guest house for the night. We got there at about 5 just as it started to rain heavily (perfect timing!) and got a bite to eat from a little shack with flies all over everything. We picked the dish which contained the most peppers hoping it would kill anything living in there:) Time will tell.
We asked where to stay, and they said the closest place was 25km down the road. We asked if a taxi could take us, but they said there weren't any. So we ate an extra helping of rice, bought more water and decided to keep going before it got dark out. But then a taxi arrived and we negotiated to have him drive us all the way to Siemreab for $40 US. It was worth every penny:)
We skipped some terrible muddy sections of road, and missed the pouring rain. And we have the next two days to check out Angkor Wat (the eighth wonder of the world) before we catch the ferry to the Capital.
I ended up getting sunburned on my triceps (the only part of me not covered in mud) and on my back on one side through my tshirt:( We'll see how bad it is tomorrow.
Alright, I can barely keep typing. I'm off to bed!
But there were several men from the Cambodian Cultural Affairs office who helped us fill out all of our paperwork and told us which lines to stand in for the fastest service and what to give to each station when clearing the Cambodian side. VERY helpful and friendly, so that was great. When we got to the Cambodian customs guy, he was very thorough and spoke some English. However, his English seemed to be limited to quotes from _Apocalypse Now_ and that was super creepy!
The road was unbelievably terrible beginning right away. It was a rocky dirt road covered in a super slick mud slime that smelled bad. Andrew's tires have some knobs to them, but mine are pretty much road tires only. With all my equipment on the back and unequal weight distribution, I was sliding all over the place and using all of my concentration not to get hit by any cars and more importantly, not to fall into that rancid mud.
Our tires kicked up a ton of mud and we were soon covered. But I didn't fall! After about a kilometer, it dried out and we were on a "regular" poorly maintained dirt road. We didn't stop to take any pictures because we were afraid we wouldn't be able to start pedaling again. And we didn't want to even step in that mud. Picture ops we missed: a hospital sign with a blue cross on it. Instead of the snake being coiled around the Staff of Asclepius, it was coiled around a martini glass. And a truck with rice sacks piled up 30ft high, and lots of people on top of that!
We went about 60 miles today in the heat and humidity today. It was very interesting to see the countryside, but we consumed prodigious quantities of water. Every time we stopped (once an hour) we were covered in sweat. I've never experienced anything like that before. When we were moving, the breeze was enough to keep us dryish. But when we stopped, we poured sweat. I don't think the pictures will do it justice.
Fortunately for us, almost 40miles of what we rode today was freshly paved. It made for much more pleasant riding and since the road was so wide, we could ride side-by-side.
We planned to ride half-way to Siemreab and then get a guest house for the night. We got there at about 5 just as it started to rain heavily (perfect timing!) and got a bite to eat from a little shack with flies all over everything. We picked the dish which contained the most peppers hoping it would kill anything living in there:) Time will tell.
We asked where to stay, and they said the closest place was 25km down the road. We asked if a taxi could take us, but they said there weren't any. So we ate an extra helping of rice, bought more water and decided to keep going before it got dark out. But then a taxi arrived and we negotiated to have him drive us all the way to Siemreab for $40 US. It was worth every penny:)
We skipped some terrible muddy sections of road, and missed the pouring rain. And we have the next two days to check out Angkor Wat (the eighth wonder of the world) before we catch the ferry to the Capital.
I ended up getting sunburned on my triceps (the only part of me not covered in mud) and on my back on one side through my tshirt:( We'll see how bad it is tomorrow.
Alright, I can barely keep typing. I'm off to bed!
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