Taken in October of 2012 in Phnom Penh.
Phnom Penh contains an interesting mashup of architecture from traditional Khmeri to French colonial era, to the glass high-rises that are currently popping up. This looks to me like the middle one, but I know almost nothing about architecture.
Taken in October of 2012 in Phnom Penh.
An estimated 95% of Cambodians are Buddhist, and Buddhism has been the dominant religion since the time of Jayavarman VII (i.e. the late 12th century.) This begs the question, why might one see a statue of a Hindu deity in a public space in Cambodia’s capital city?
If you’ve visited Angkor, you know that Hindu imagery abounds. This is because before Jayavarman, the Khmeris were Hindu. In a great early act of recycling, Vishnu sculptures became Buddha sculptures by decree. (In what is–as far as I know–a coincidence, many Hindus believe that Buddha [Siddhartha Gautama Buddha] was an avatar, or incarnation, of Vishnu.)
This still doesn’t explain why a relatively new sculpture of Ganesha would reside in present-day Phnom Penh (Phnom Penh is not as old as Angkor, and by the time it was founded Buddhism was dominant.) Just as contemporary taxi and auto-rickshaw (tuk-tuk) drivers in India display Ganesha in appeal to this “remover of obstacles,” 10th century maritime traders did the same. This desire to court the favor of the remover of obstacles has continued on into the modern-day.
It’s an interesting commentary on how cultures never interact without getting some of their chocolate into the other culture’s peanut butter and vice versa (for those who have no idea what I’m talking about, that’s a reference to an old Reese’s commercial and not some dark coded message.)
Taken October 2012 at Wat Phnom in Phnom Penh.
How come the noun “incense” means “a substance that releases a strong fragrance when burned,” but in its adjectival or verbal form it means to be, or make someone, extremely angry.
It’s not a rhetorical question, people. If you’ve got an answer, let me know.
Taken in the fall of 2012 in Phnom Penh
Taken October 2012 in Phnom Penh.
Taken in October 2012 in Phnom Penh
Taken in October of 2012 at Tuol Sleng in Phnom Penh.
The artworks high in the frame demonstrate how the otherwise nondescript implements of torture were used. These were a couple of the more disturbing exhibits at Tuol Sleng Museum. Tuol Sleng was a school that the Khmer Rouge pressed into use as a prison and center of torture.
The clock at Wat Phnom in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Taken in October of 2012.
Wat Phnom is Phnom Penh’s temple on the hill. I say “the hill” because Phnom Penh is not rife with topography, and there is just the one hill.
Traffic in Phnom Penh; Taken October 2012
Taken on the grounds of the Royal Palace in October 2012
Tiger Riding for Beginners 