I’ve always adopted the boy scouts motto of ‘Always Be Prepared’, never more so than when travelling. Somehow four years had managed to elapse since I’d last been abroad, despite a deep love of travel. As I exited the airport arrivals hall to clamber into a taxi in the pitch dark with a man who spoke no English, I reflected on the leap of faith you have to take when travelling abroad alone. Sure you take all the precautions you can to protect yourself but being in unfamiliar territory there is ultimately an element of, hoping for the best. With the adrenaline pumping I soon found myself unable to tear my eyes from the scene around me. As we raced towards the city centre of Phnom Penh I felt alive as hundreds of motorbikes, cars and tuk tuk’s, jam packed full of people, swerved in and out all around me, honking horns. Motorbikes with toddlers stood sandwiched between parents. Moped’s carrying crates of chicks, veg, you name it. I felt like Jeremy Clarkson in a Top Gear travels episode, though I couldn’t tell you about the horse power of anything I had a ludicrously big grin on my face. The adventure was just beginning.
Holiday’s previously had involved a spreadsheet with fun scheduled at exactly 11.05am (anything earlier would just be wrong) and boyfriend’s base jump at 15.00. But with a hectic work schedule, relinquishing control to Linda Bell (Founder of Essential Explorations) was a must and something entirely new to me. Our first excursion to the Russian markets was a cultural immersion so full of colour I hardly knew where to look. There you could buy everything from moped parts to a cooling sugar cane drink, a “genuine fake” Mont Blanc and fish for supper. The buzz, the steam, the cockroaches, the smell!
Away from the hustle and bustle of Phnom Penh the Mekong river provides a lifeline for the villagers who use it.
After an overnight stay in Siem Reap, it was a bus ride to Tonle Sap, the largest freshwater lake in South East Asia and home to more than 100 different bird species from storks to pelicans as well as other animals like otters and turtles. 90% of the surrounding population earn their income from fishing here. The floating village includes a school with notices attached, kindly requesting visitors not to stop and disrupt the pupils education from local monks. Drifting past wooden houses on stilts set alongside the river gave me an insight into a distinctly different way of life. Life is difficult and some houses flood seasonally forcing the inhabitants to relocate to higher ground, but everyone I saw had a smile for me.
Moving home does not always mean removing ones possessions but rather tethering the wooden house to a rowing boat with outboard motor which literally drags the floating home down the river to a new location.
Angelina Jolie fans may remember scenes from Tomb Raider were shot here, indeed Cambodia is where she met and fell in love with one child she later adopted after visiting an orphanage here during a break from filming. I would have loved to have visited an orphanage myself, having worked in one in Hungary some years ago, however I understand there is a fine line between offering supplies and quality time to orphaned children, and not allowing children to become something of a tourist attraction for ones own pleasure. I was shocked to learn that not all orphanages here were born out of genuine need, instead corruption has led to the buying of children to live in these orphanages from poor families in rural areas. A money making scheme to get cash from tourists, so visiting is generally discouraged. I fear the long-term psychological effects on these children who feel abandoned and become institutionalised in this manner.
Ta Phrom, made famous by the Tomb Raider film starring Angelina Jolie, is a small but impressive lateritic and sandstone structure built by King Jayavarmen VII in the 13th Century. The ancient trees have taken over, their roots ensnaring the temples. I was so lucky to be able to capture these photographs as sadly there is a plan to clear the trees from the site this coming year, in order to rebuild the temples. The magic of the place will be lost forever for me.
The rainy season (July-September) is the perfect time for a photographer to visit Cambodia. After the rain your grass looks rich and lush, surfaces glimmer and there are fewer tourists featuring in your photographs. It was during one torrential downpour that I visited the World Heritage site of Angkor Wat to marvel at the craftsmanship that has gone into this most magnificent of architectural feats. Once the capital of the Khmer Empire, built in the early 12th century, it’s a fascinating place, first used as a Hindu then Buddhist temple. It’s a proud symbol for the Cambodian people, a place to lose yourself in and ponder on the past.
To be continued…
Christiana Helen Perry 