“Taiping, the city that tin built”.

 

Street mural

Like Ipoh, Taiping was a city “that tin built”.

Indeed most of the pioneering work of developing Malaysia was carried on the shoulders of tin mining. With the arrival of Chinese immigrants in Malaysia, panning commenced around the 1820’s and steadily grew until some clan and local Malay gang conflicts over mining rights and access to drinking water irrupted. This chaos was the formal precipitating cause of the British “forward movement” in the Peninsular, which culminated in the establishment of colonial control over the main tin mining Malay states in 1874. Thereafter, progress pushed forward with a stretch of railway line connecting the tin fields to the waiting ships at Port Weld. Malaysia’s first railway. Then the first trunk roads in Peninsular Malaysia was routed through the main tin towns of Taiping, Ipoh and Kuala Lumper, all resources were bound for the British Isles.

Stop that train! More street art.

We had traveled by bus from Penang to Taiping. Ipoh was further south.

Taiping was the tin capital of the state Perak until it was superseded by Ipoh. Because we enjoyed visiting Penang and Ipoh searching out the historical buildings and following the development of the country, it was natural to add Taiping to the list. Although crumbling and faded in places, it was a lovely place to visit and discover grand old colonial architecture, again. Boasting a further series of firsts, Taiping claimed: the first hill station in Malaysia, Maxwell Hill (Bukit Larut), the first museum, the first prison, and the first English language schools. Furthermore, Taiping’s beautiful Lake Gardens was the oldest public park in Malaysia.

Shophouses old and worn

Shophouses refreshed

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately its nom de plume, “The Wettest City in Malaysia” did not bode well, particularly as we were visiting in the wet season!

Nevertheless, between cloudbursts we managed to follow much of the heritage self-guiding walk.

http://www.malaysia-traveller.com/taiping-heritage-trail

Bus stop near an information board for the Heritage Trail

Near our hotel on Jalan Stesen, King Edward VII school opened by the Sultan of Perak in 1906.

Our first foray was to the Lake Gardens. Passing firstly an imposing Government building, we read that it was constructed in 1895-98 to provide space for various council and government ministries. It continued to house offices for the regional area.

Government Offices

Then came the Taiping Lending Library which had taken up residence in a bungalow that once was constructed for a branch of Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China, back in 1882.

Former bank building

The Lake Gardens which have been in use since 1884 was a very large series of landscaped parks, ponds and bridges.

Lake Gardens

Branches reached over the road.

Rain Trees over 100 years old

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Created from abandoned tin mines, they were said to have been modeled on London’s Kensington Park and other royal parks in Britain. As we took shade under the grand old Rain Trees which lined the avenue, we came upon Jubilee Jetty. Looking across to a distant bank, we saw the biggest monitor lizard since we left the Kommodo Islands!! It swaggered slowly down the incline to immerse itself in the cooling waters but within seconds there was a thrashing surge under the surface and the lizard dashed out of the lake and back up the bank. What Happened? Was it a territorial dispute with another lizard lolling there? Burney continued to observe and eventually spotted two large otters. Now you don’t see that every day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Crossing a quaint bridge and distracted by an unidentified heron stalking the fish on an isolated reed bed, Hans pointed to a large bird flying over. Burney’s jaw dropped. It was a Rhinoceros Hornbill, a bird she’d not seen before and there she stood with no camera and no binoculars. When the second hornbill flew past the best she could do was use the camera on her mobile phone. Proof positive if one zoomed up.

Zoomed and heavily cropped

Look closely in the sky

Rhinoceros Hornbill
Photo by Kh Neh Oct 17 also in the Lake Gardens

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we wandered the streets looping back towards our hotel looking for a suitable eatery, we found the old and new clock towers. Adjacent to the rather retro looking new clock was a remarkable building with numerous wooden slats and high cathedral-like ironwork. The smell indicated that it was the wet market where fish (and probably meat) was sold.

Concret Clock tower

Wet market since 1884-85

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The old clock tower was all that remained, surrounded and dwarfed by poorly maintained high-rise hotels. In bygone days, both the police and fire brigade were housed there in a larger building which resembled a fort when it was created.

1890

Once the residence of a wealthy importer and rice wine brewer, the corner structure was built according to the “Straits Eclectic” architectural style of 1928. ( A bit of this Asian Feng Shui and a dash of that British colonial)

Peace Hotel

These days, like several heritage buildings in Taiping, it was in need of a clean and a fresh paint job. While it advertised as the Peace Hotel, the converted ground floor was a food court  which still sported some old charm with delightful wall tiles.

Dinner: chicken broth with flat rice noodles, tofu, dimsum and fishballs (and a fertilised egg)

********************************************************************

Breakfast: Steamed pork buns

Assorted wontons

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On another excursion, while riding the bus towards the Maxwell Hill Station ticket office, Burney saw the stately whitewashed mansion which once served as the British Officers Mess. Apparently, it was still used by the Malaysian Army. Where was Hans? Unwell with a very chesty flu, back at the hotel.

Officers Mess

Quickly thereafter barbwire-topped walls appeared. Taiping Gaol which was established in 1879 when Chinese gangs ran the tin mines and were engaged in open conflict. Convict labour was used to build much of Taiping and also ran various trades from within the prison such as a laundry and bakery. It was still an active prison. Opposite stood the Museum. Set up by Sir Hugh Low when he was Resident of the state of Perak, the building itself dated from 1883.

Museum

St. George’s Institution, a Catholic boy’s school established in 1915. The original building was extended in 1928. During the WWII, according to the school website “It was converted into the headquarters for the Kempetai (military police). The rumoured brutality and torture committed by the Japanese military police during the tenure of the school is a source of ghostly legends commonly circulated by the students even till today.”

St. George’s Institution

But for something a little more light-hearted, wandering home after dining that day we found this.

“Paint with Passion”
street art

The light was real and illuminated.

The tree tops clambered with the roosting racket of parakeets settling in for the night. Also the loud recordings of Edible-nest Swiftlets had finally ceased, to be replaced by the real calls of the birds arriving back at their false caves in house attics where “nest farming” was practiced.

Long tailed Parakeet

Next: Burney spends a morning on Maxwell Hill birding. See burneysbirdblog.wordpress.com

 

Cruising into October (2017)

Thank you and goodnight.

Brahminy Too on her berth in Rebak.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After our return to Langkawi from Cambodia, we readied Brahminy Too for our departure south. Bidding Rebak farewell, we donated our old solar panels to Zen on Singa Besar at the former Bluesman Paradise location, then motorsailed to Kuah to complete our port clearance procedures in a huge downpour of torrential rain. Apart from finding an uncharted rock submerged near Tuba Island which is now noted on Navionics, we arrived on the south west corner of Pulua Dayang Bunting and sheltered with the local squid boats in a well-protected anchorage for the evening. The recent scuds and wind made any anchorages south or west of the island untenable.

An unexpected stop-over

Having studied the tides and current direction, Hans made excellent time averaging 6.5knots in light winds. While the morning started grey and threatened a damp passage, our arrival was spot lit. Clouds parted, blue sky reigned and “The Pearl of the Orient” welcomed us with sunny warmth. No sooner had we traversed the busy ferry hub of Georgetown and begun our approach under the first Penang Bridge when Burney received a message on her phone from the Lochards,  a yachtie family temporarily residing in accommodation abeam of our location:- ”Hey guys are you sailing towards the bridge atm”. Hello, Penang, we’re back and the social engagements begin…

Ferry and cruise ship terminus

Hans, Karel from svTehani Li, Herve and Corrine from svMax and Burney

January had seen us spending a month exploring parts of the Penang Island and celebrating both the Gregorian and Chinese New Years. This time, in October we hoped to spend 2 weeks reacquainting ourselves with friends and favourite spots. Luckily after anchoring at the neighbouring island of Jerejak, Hans was able to convince the Director who managed the Harbour Master marina (Jabatan Laut Jeti and Marina) to allow us to come-in and berth. There had been some poor behavior by a visiting vessel that had offended the staff and led to the cessation of new arrivals being accepted, again. (The berthing fees were 1/3 of those at the only other marina on the island.) Once happily ensconced we started enjoying the food, festivities and friendship of Georgetown.

B. Too was located where the blue dot sits

Between boat jobs, the Penang National Park was visited. Although Burney had walked one of the tracks in January, it was a first for Hans. A scenic bus ride along the northern coastal beaches brought us to the smallest national park. At the end of the paved path, a little suspension bridge signaled the start of the two main trails, both narrow dirt tracks. Instead of the inland route, we followed the wave lapped shore towards Monkey Beach.

Lesser Sand-plover

Dusky Leaf Monkey

Previously having seen the Blue Mansion of Cheong Fatt Tze,  Burney took a tour of a different historic Chinese mansion: The Pinang Peranakan Mansion of Chung Keng Kwee who was commonly known as Kaptain Cina. 

Previous visit to the Blue Mansion

Peranakan Mansion on Church Street

Lower floor

Dining hall for British dignities

Peranakans or the Straits Chinese  had settled in the British Straits Settlements of Singapore, Taiping, Ipoh, Malacca and Penang. Enterprising clans adopted both the local Malay styles of cooking and incorporated the British colonial lifestyle.

 

 

 

 

 

Eclectic collection of Chinese inlaid furniture and the latest British mirrorware

Bridal suite

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Typical of an affluent magnate, the 19^th century house and attached temple combined Feng Shui principles with an eclectic combination of English floor tiles, Scottish ironwork, Chinese mother-of-pearl inlaid furniture and fabulous carved teak panels. Kaptain Cina had made his fortune with tin in Taiping and had secured a monopoly for tobacco, liquor, gambling and opium farms. Although he was a man with a colourful history being a triad leader, his position also led to the creation of schools, roads and employment.

Chung Keng Quee

Street art in Church Street with reference to triads

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After enduring many decades of neglect, the mansion was restored to its former grandeur and extended to include The Straits Chinese Jewellery Museum. Various chambers displayed bridal rooms decorated according to the era: eg.1900-1920, Pre WWII or  dining halls lined with period porcelain and silverware, clothing through the ages and kitchen utensils. It was wonderful to take a step into history and peak into the lifestyle of (another) wealthy Peranakan.

Baby furniture

Baby’s “high” chair

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Commode and chamber pot

Celebrated widely by the Chinese community in Penang, The Lantern Festival or Mid-Autumn Festival was a time when family and friends gathered together to admire the full moon while savouring Moon Cakes, Chinese Tea and parading around with colourful Chinese Lanterns. This year it fell on Oct 4th of the Gregorian calendar, closest to the fall equinox. Traditionally it was the time that rice matured and was harvested. Most food for the festival emphasised the season’s harvest, such as pumpkin, taro, and auspicious round foods including mooncakes.

Moon cakes

Chinese pastry, made from wheat flour and sweet stuffing, such as sugar and lotus seed powder.

It’s a symbol of family reunion, and the cake is traditionally cut into pieces that equal the number of people in the family

Loh won a Lucky Draw:
a 2 kg Mooncake

Daughter with a battery-operated lantern (free give away)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had the opportunity to reunite with Loh’s family with whom we celebrated Chinese New Year. This time it was a gala gathering at the Komtar Centre with lion dancers, classical musicians and food.

Komtar Center

Festival lanterns

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also managed a 3 day road trip to the historical town of Taiping on the Malaysian Peninsular.

 

Sept Sojourns: Battambang continued..

Banan Temple
Located about 18km from Battambang (south), Wat Banan was an Angkor era temple which sat on top of a 400 meter hill close to the Sanker river. The steep steps up to the temple was worth the effort for the stunning 360 degree panoramic views from the top.  Whilst the structures were mostly intact, like so many Khmer ruins they have fallen victim to massive looting.

So many steps…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Devoid of all decoration

Faces looted

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Furthermore, as part of the sad irony that was Cambodia, a place built for worship, harmony and tranquility was also utilised as a place for reigning war upon one’s fellow countrymen. There were a couple of big guns on the mountaintop next to the ruins. Still aiming down at the surrounding area as they had during the more recent years of the government-Khmer Rouge skirmishes, it was a sobering reminder. Then there were the notices:  STAY ON THE WORN PATHWAYS AND TRAILS- there may still be undiscovered landmines.

This temple remains a place of worship

At the bottom of the hill were a few food and drink stalls perched along the edge of a pond making it a pleasant place to while away some time. Several locals hired special picnic huts and lounged in hammocks by the cooling water. We had a date with an afterhours English Education class in Slarkram Village.

Folks languishing in the shade

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One day while exploring the historical buildings around Battambang, we chatted with a very well-spoken Cambodian, Narath. Back in 2005, with the permission of the Director of the village school, he was able to establish a small English teaching class. A few years later, some of those students started teaching English to others and Narath could then run 3 classes. He asked us to volunteer in assisting with the correct pronunciation.

One afternoon, Hans went off with Narath on the back of his motorbike to play teacher. Slarkram English School was approx. 7km south of our hotel. On this occasion, after visiting the Banan Temple we both visited. In addition, our tutk-tuk driver who had also learnt English in a monastery became involved.

Waiting for class

Slarkram English School   www.slarkramenglishschool.com

This is a free service provided after normal school hours. They currently have 340 students aged between 5 and 22 years from the village and surrounding area. Narath learnt English as a boy in a Buddhist monastery and has made it his calling to help his community. For reasons of poverty and poor accessibility many children in the countryside did not have the opportunity to improve their career prospects. English skills may greatly enhance their employment as tourism and NGO positions increase.

Before the lesson began, we were kindly invited into Narath’s parent’s house. Renovations were occurring around us as a new bathroom was being built  in the home closer to the roadside/bank. The backporch, where the facility had been housed, had subsided due to the high water inundation. Narath’s story was instructive as Burney had asked: “How did you come to speak English so well?”

Narath’s Story: Both his parents had been teachers before the Cambodian civil war. Considered intellectuals, wearing glasses was also a symptom of being an intellectual; they were shot and left for dead. Fortunately, feigning death, they survived however, neither have been able to work again due to their wounds. Narath’s father who had once spoken English, French and Cambodian had great difficulty with any speak production due to the bullet he had carried in his brain. It took several years before his body actually shed the offending shell. (He requires expensive epilepsy medication, these days.) Unable to care for their own children, Narath and his siblings were placed in a Buddhist monastery. Like many children in Cambodia, thousands of children are nurtured in orphanages or by monasteries while they actually have a parent or relative. Poverty, abject poverty, made it impossible to provide for them, and like Narath, they may have fared better in life with an education.

[We can thoroughly recommend this organisation should you choose to offer your voluntary services. Interact for a lesson or stay for a month, make a small donation or fund-raise for their short term goals: a television, computer, dvd player and/or photocopy machine. They also have an ambitious long term goal to purchase a small plot of land and build a 8 classroom school.]

Burney’s job was to read a passage then critique the students pronunciation. Having been a speech therapist in a past life, she was adequately equipped with assisting with the tricky “TH” and “SH” sound production. It was quite comical, really.

“th”

That encounter further piqued Burney’s need for greater understanding of the background of that

violent recent history in the reign of the Khmer Rouge under Pol Pot’s totalitarian dictatorship.

This extremely violent regime killed up to 3 million people between 1975 to 1979, while the later guerrilla war between Vietnam didn’t end until 1994.

The genocide and other wars throughout the late 20th century took it’s toll, but the country was now bouncing back and had been at peace for over a decade.

The rise and fall of the Khmer Rouge

It has been revealed that the United States’ massive covert carpet bombing campaign in the late 1960s contributed to the rise of the Khmer Rouge. Burney read: “The Air Force began bombing the rural regions of Cambodia along its South Vietnam border in 1965 under the Johnson administration; this was four years earlier than previously believed. The “Menu Bombings” were an escalation of what had previously been tactical air attacks. Newly inaugurated President Richard Nixon authorized for the first time, use of long range B-52 heavy bombers to carpet bomb Cambodia.

48 of the bombers were secretly diverted across the Cambodian border and dropped 2,400 tons of bombs. The mission was designated “Breakfast”, after the morning Pentagon planning session at which it was devised. Menu Bombings covered many covert missions (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snack, Dessert, and Supper). Nixon and Kissinger went to great lengths to keep the missions secret. In order to prevent criticism of the bombing

King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia who gained independence for his country from France, was never asked nor ever gave his approval. During the course of the Menu bombings, Sihanouk’s government formally protested “American violation[s] of Cambodian territory and airspace” although they had supported the US war against communist Vietnam. Then followed Operation Freedom Deal whereby bombing was expanded to a much larger area of Cambodia (at least one-half of the country) and continued for another 3 years until August 1973. An American congressional committee uncovered excuses and deceptions that were perhaps more alarming than those occurring simultaneously in the Watergate hearings. It has been asserted that the “Khmer Rouge were born out of the inferno that American policy did much to create”. The fear and loathing of the western campaign, a power vacuum, and different forms of communism and border disputes led to the rise of Pol Pot who was pro-Chinese and radically Maoist.

A few days after they took power in 1975, the Khmer Rouge forced approximately two million people in Phnom Penh and other cities into the countryside to undertake agricultural work. Thousands of people died during the evacuations. They wanted to transform Cambodia into a rural, classless society in which there were no rich people, no poor people, and no exploitation. To accomplish this, they abolished money, free markets, normal schooling, private property, foreign clothing styles, religious practices, and traditional Khmer culture. Public schools, pagodas, mosques, churches, universities, shops and government buildings were shut or turned into prisons, stables, reeducation camps and granaries. People were forbidden to travel beyond their cooperative. The regime banned anyone to gather and hold discussions. If three people gathered and talked, they could be accused of being enemies and arrested or executed. Over the next three years, they executed hundreds of thousands of intellectuals; city residents; minority people such as the Cham, Vietnamese and Chinese; and many of their own soldiers and party members, who were accused of being traitors.

The Khmer Rouge claimed that only pure people were qualified to build the revolution.

A prison in Cambodia, known as S-21, held approximately 14,000 prisoners while in operation. It is thought that only about 12 survived.

In December 1978, Vietnamese troops fought their way into Cambodia capturing Phnom Penh on January 7, 1979. The Khmer Rouge leaders then fled to the western provinces and remained active in the areas near Battambang only suspending hostilities in 1996. During this period the city was off limits to most visitors as it was on the front line in the war against the Khmer Rouge. Typically the government forces would push the Khmer Rouge back towards the mountains of Pailin in the south west, in the dry season only to cede most of the gains once the monsoon rains came.

From 1996, Battambang was at peace for the first time in decades and experienced some growth. However it is only until very recently that tourists have come to the city in any numbers – most of the minefields have now been cleared and the main roads have been rehabilitated.

From Landmine Museum (archive image)

Street Art

 

Sept. Sojourns: Battambang

Floating villages

When we flew to Cambodia, we noted the flooded plains  around Tonle Sap (Great Lake). Burney read that it may measure 2,590 square kilometres during the dry season but expands to 24,605 square kilometres during the monsoons. Leaving Siem Reap and heading to Battambang, we took a ferry, firstly south down Siem Reap River which then emptied into the vast lake, Tonle Sap.
It’s the largest lake in Southeast Asia, one of the most productive inland fisheries in the world and, a little creepily, holds the richest snake harvest in the world too. It’s home to an exceptional array of wildlife, so Burney spent most of the 4 hr trip looking for resident birds while Hans entertained a few of us blowing his harp.

Aerial view of part of the Tonle Sap inundation

Water Hyacinth clogs large parts of the lake.

Narrow passages through shrubs laden with grasshoppers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flooded forests

The ferry was occasionally met by small wooden boats. The locals would either utilise the ferry service as a goods courier or indeed clamber aboard themselves with bags of fishy produce for the market. Among the poorest of the poor were those who lived not by, but actually, on the lake itself. Some 130,000 people occupy 90 floating villages. (Many are Vietnamese who are not allowed to own land.) Nevertheless, they were quick with a cheery smile and a wave. Many of the small floating houses were literally surrounded by water hyacinth making navigation on the lake difficult in the dry season. Indeed, we had an unexpected “beaching” on a raft of greenery when we failed to break-through. There were quite a few anxious expressions on the passengers faces. Especially when we were showered with tiny grasshoppers who sought a safer perch (on us) since their hyacinth homes had been disturbed. Like our ferry, the rudders of the many long boats effectively chopped the water hyacinth up and thus propagated it further, adding to the problem. Interestingly, there was a company called: The Interior Trading Company that re-taught the local women to make woven products from harvested hyacinth thereby giving the women a sale-able trade and addressing the over abundance of the pest water weed.

Product selection photo from the company website

Sustainability

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inundated forests and shrubbery furnished the scenery till we eventually wound our way westward along the Sangkar River. Battambang straddled both banks of the river.

Floating village Buddhist temple

 

 

Sangkrei River banks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once the French Governor’s residence

French colonial architecture

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although the actual city of Battambang was not particularly old, there’s reportedly evidence of occupation in the area for over 1000 years. Ancient Khmer ruins were also scattered around this location, one of which we visited. However between the 15th and 18th centuries, the Battambang territory was invaded by the Siamese army. Indeed the earlier history of the provinces on the north west, flip-flopped back and forth between Thailand (Siam) and Cambodia. 1795 Thailand annexed great sways of territory including Battambang and Siem Reap. Their rule lasted until 1907 when the province was ceded to the French to be part of their Indochina colony.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Much of the architecture still seen today in the centre of the town dates from the first half of the twentieth century. Along with the familiar Chinese shophouses, French colonial structures were found in the town centre. Some of the buildings had been spruced up but most were in various states of  decline. And then there were the gold-painted Buddist temples and the sound of prayers being broadcast on loud speakers.

Battambang:
Buddhist Temple

In keeping with the French theme, one afternoon, Hans provided a delightful sundowners picnic which we enjoyed by the river. Quite romantic.

French red wine, baguettes and soft brie. Yum!

Staying on the topic of food, a traditional Cambodian breakfast in Battambang was an informal stall set just back from the road serving Khmer noodle soup, known as kuy tiev, pork broth with noodles and vegetables. One morning, instead of muesli and fruit, we found a little cafe, Kinyei Café on Street 1½; where the 2013 Cambodian barista champion made coffee.

Typical street food

Battambang’s street names were numbers. Hence, the riverside esplanade was Street 1. Our café was found on a narrow lane between two main streets, Street 1½ logically.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Khmer style rice porridge

Keen to learn more about traditional Khmer cookery, we both enrolled for a class one morning having enjoyed a similar experience in Vietnam. As with our previous cookery class, we first visited the local wet market to learn more about Cambodian produce and to acquire some ingredients before returning to Nary Kitchen to prepare 3 meals and a dessert. This, we gladly ate for lunch!

(No, we did not eat ants, snake, beetles or crickets but we saw them at the market)

fresh frog which we saw peeled before our eyes…still kicking!

eel

banana leaf

Chef Nary

Today’s lesson

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lunch

Chef Hans

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sept Sojourns: Siem Reap continued

Whenever we go, we usually focus on history, food and animals, with a smidgen of live music too. The amazing structures that constituted the UNESCO World Heritage Site, was much more than the Angkor Wat religious monument. Indeed the Siem Reap province was home to a vast and scattered array of other ruin sites. Much further afield was Banteay Srei. Combining that temple with a visit to a wildlife conservation centre, Angkor Centre for Conservation and Biodiversity, made for a lovely afternoon outside of the bustle of the city.

Silver Langur (female)
Had a large tree in an electrified area

Zoomed for detail

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Travelling by car to his modest centre, we covered nearly 50 km, north from Siem Reap, passed rice fields and villages then entering the well forested area of Kbal Spean in Phnom Kulen National Park. ACCB offered only two tours during the day; one at 9AM, another at 1PM, which we took. The cost, a mere US$3,  was more on a donation basis to support the centre. As our guide escorted us, we saw many birds, turtles, gibbons, a civet, wild cats and a gorgeous porcupine. Most were rescued from the animal poaching trade or were cruelly chained “pets”. The staff was also actively educating locals and school children in habitat preservation and animal conservation. Furthermore, work was obvious in species research with the captive breeding and a soft-release program of the critically endangered, Great Adjutant (which would hopefully bolster numbers in the future).

Adjutant Greater

Grey-headed Fish-eagle

Porcupine

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Several kilometers back towards Siem Reap was the picturesque Khmer Empire-style temple (Hindu), Tribhuvanamahesvara – “Great Lord of the Threefold World – or more commonly called Banteay Srei.

Consecrated on 22 April 967 A.D.,  Bantãy Srĕi was the only major temple of Angkor not built by a monarch. A counselor to King Rajendravarman II and teacher/guru of the future King Jayavarman V was granted land and permission to build the temple. It has been speculated that the temple’s modern name, Bantãy Srĕi, —citadel of the women, or citadel of beauty— was due to the many devatas carved into the red sandstone walls.

Google archive aerial shot

Although we had hoped to linger and see the sandstone glow in sunset colours, we were lucky to view it after a sudden downpour of rain and before a coach full of tourists descended. Unlike the major sites at Angkor Thom, Bantãy Srĕi although totally decorated was quite miniature in scale. Amazingly, the extremely intricate carvings showed little weathering. The sharpness of the original work was further enhanced by the fact that most was at eye level.

Granite and laterite

Indra, guardian of the East on his 3 Elephants

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

detail: foliage is carved in near 3 dimensions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deity Varuna on geese

The tranquility of experiencing this place with only a few locals was delightful. (Then the bus arrived)

Again we heard parakeets calling as they flew from the surrounding trees, but that time they were the Red-breasted Parakeet.

Red-breasted Parakeet (Female)

Where to from here?.

The next day, we would leave from Siem Reap for Battambang,  by ferry.

Only 2hrs by bus but we went by boat.

 

 

 

September Sojourns: Part 2

Ta Prohm and birdwatching

Frequently referred to as the Tomb Raider temple made famous by the Angelina Jolie movie, the site has been only partially restored. This was a conscious decision on the part of the Françoise d’Extreme-Orient who preferred to leave one monument in its natural state. Indeed vast amounts had been cleared and cleaned and obvious measures taken to prevent further ruin, but the charm remained as massive trees grew upon the buildings, their roots forming an integral part of the structure.  We had decided to start our day early before the crowds, to smell and hear the surrounding jungle come alive with the rising sun. Many of the imposing trees were either fig trees or silk-cotton trees with their enormous trunks and soaring canopies. It was here we heard the call of a few Alexandrine Parrots as they flew from branch to branch.

Fig tree

Silk-cotton tree

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ta Prohm, unlike the other monuments, was said to be a Buddhist monastery and had a single level ground plan. A stele gave the date 1186 however structural additions have been dated later. Like Angkor Wat, we were impressed by the artful renditions of devatas. Many were well preserved as they sheltered in niches. Walls were covered in carvings that resembled embroidery and foliated scrolls. However, it was the encroaching trees and sense of adventure experienced whilst creeping between roots to enter dark galleries and reappearing into daylight at an inner courtyard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Root buttress supported to prevent damage

Well preserved in a corner niche

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we walked along a tree-lined avenue west, towards the heart of the ancient city, we heard traditional music. Upon a small wooden stage, a group of musicians preformed. Their melodies were mesmerising but on closer observation we noted that they were each maimed. Victims of land mine explosions. Whilst huge efforts (remember Princess Diana’s foundation) have been performed with the disarmament and removal of these mines, we were regularly reminded to remain on well-worn paths when traversing the forests. Anti-personnel landmines — which were specifically designed to explode upon contact with a person — have killed or maimed an estimated 63,000 victims in Cambodia alone. Cambodia’s notorious landmine problem is the product of a civil war that spanned three decades, culminating in genocide in the late 1970s that claimed the lives of up to three million people, or one-third of the entire population. Burney read that: 40,000 people — one out of every 290 Cambodians — are amputees, the vast majority of whom are men and thus the traditional heads of household. One gentleman, we noted had only a few fingers on one hand with which to play a cymbal. He had lost both legs, one arm and was blind. Yes we listened to their music, applauded and gave generously. (“It is estimated that a single landmine — which costs just $3 to manufacture — will cost upwards of $1,000 to identify and safely remove.”)

Land mine victim

Ta Prohm shaded green. Bayon centre of Angkor Thom

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The ancient capital city of Angkor Thom, possibly, remained active till the 17^th century. Indeed it overlapped a previous C9^th capital site and included temples from earlier dynasties. The number and size of the temples around this area were not for the population to use for worship but were the personal work of a king or aristocrat who wished to accumulate “divine merits” for his immortality. The creation of those grandiose monuments was very labour intensive and possibly absorbed most of the population, both voluntarily as involuntary through slave-labour. (The remainder of the citizenry was probably exhausted with military exploits.) Within the centre of the moated city was the temple of Prasat Bayon, famous for the many faces carved into the stones. This was the state temple of Jayavarman VII and displayed both Hindu and Buddhist elements. Over the years and successive kings, a forest of towers was created. Each had/has a face on all four cardinal points however the central tower had more. Entering from the east were the usual guarding lions and naga balustrades (see previous blog). Then the ascending terrace levels became a jumble of face-towers. Some were in profile, some framed by gallery doorways, whilst others formed individual free-standing shrines.

Bayon faces on four sides

A forest of towers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Interestingly, whilst the entrance gate to Angkor Wat was from the west, the predominance of eastern entrances with other temples might suggest that Angkor Wat was constructed for funerary purposes. The eastern orientation and indeed the strict symbolic order of structure followed a sun worshipping civilization.]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the frame, doorframes, that is…

A long terrace running through Angkor Thom has almost life-sized elephants carved as bas-relief along its length. Most appear to be portrayed with their mahouts in hunting scenes. Further along strange lion headed figures and others called garudas appear to support the upper level with their raised arms.

3 dimensional sculptures of elephants

Elephant Wall

Detail of hunting scene on elephants

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elephant Avenue.
I actively discourage this practice as many elephants suffer enormously due to: the early abduction from their mothers, trainers abuse and/or the weight they carry.

Burney found some macaques posing in the trees, before we departed via the southern gate. All the gates carry Bayon face-towers, however the Southern Gate was the most complete and had been the most restored. Thereafter as we crossed the moat, the avenue was lined either side by rows of statues. All appeared to be tugging on the body of the serpent. On the right the heads bore fierce grimaces and represented the demons, asuras , while on the left were gods.

 

South Gate

Moat boats

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Naga: 7 headed serpent

Deities

Demons

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weary from our early start, the many stairs and the heat, we returned to Siem Reap, with one small stop-off. A not-for profit centre supporting, training and selling the products of “poor and disabled” workers was next on the agenda.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weaving traditional checkered Krama

Silk. Note the bicycle wheel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then it was lunch, pool and rest before venturing out in the cool of the evening.

Amok: coconut curry with either fish or chicken

Staying in theme with our Tomb Raider experience, we met fellow yachting friends at a bar café called Red Piano.

Apparently Ms Jolie frequented the establishment during the down times from filming. A special cocktail carries her name.

Red Piano