Nostalgia.

So it’s been an age since my last post – close to a year. It’s also been a long time since I left Cambodia, now. The nostalgia is difficult occasionally. Something is dragging me back.

“Cambodia is a dangerous place…”, a former US ambassador said, “It’ll take your heart, and it’ll break it.” It went something like that, anyway.

A visiting friend once said to me, “It’s like Narnia – you’ve stepped through the cupboard and you’re now in this other world.”

I have been looking through some images tonight. This very mixed bunch of shots are what I’m feeling right now. Almost all unpublished before.

the fish trade.

Late in the afternoon in the stilted town of Kompong Khleang, fish are still being sold where the edge of the rising Tonle Sap meets land. It looks a shambles but is actually a fairly organised system. The boat will have already been anchored out on the lake and acting as a middle-man. These five shots show the next transaction once back on dry land. Off to the evening market.

The light wasn’t great, and there was a lot of splashing, so I’m not overly happy, but why not share!

the universal baby milk scam.

“I don’t want money“, he said. “Follow me…”

Psar Chas – revisited.

Calling the atmosphere in Psar Chas hectic would be an understatement. Most of the day this covered market in central Siem Reap is rammed with locals. The smells, the sounds and of course the foods on offer often vary with the seasons. Here are a couple of shots from this morning, at what is one of my favourite spots in Siem Reap, despite all the tourists!

Psar Chas by dark.

The area around Siem Reap’s old market at night is rich with character. Surprising seeing as most streets have been washed out with tourism and the tacky stores that come with it in Cambodia. Along side wealthy European and Korean visitors, you can still see typical Khmer street vendors making a small humble living till the early hours. Some still target the local market, where as others have readily inflated their prices for foreigners. It’s a beautiful struggle to watch…

Psar Chas once again.

A new found love of Psar Chas ended up with yet another Sunday evening sitting about, whilst the sun slowly retreated. Took out the 50mm f/1.8 to play about with capturing road users into the sunlight. Interesting results.

30 minutes at Psar Chas.

It’s easy to forget the beauty of the Old Market area. It lost it’s novelty on me a long time back. However, strolling around yesterday in the late afternoon light, I was pleasantly surprised how well it’s kept its character. I decided to take the camera out for half an hour and capture some of the elegance.

Siem Reap, Cambodia.