Worldwide Photo Walk 2009 in Bangkok Chinatown

It has been almost a year since I brought myself into a photography. And it has become my main hobby nowadays. I have never ever thought that I can come this far. From a few of point and shoot cameras in 6 or 7 years ago, then the first DSLR camera, Canon 450D, in late last year and now I shoot a photograph with my second DSLR camera – Canon EOD 5D.  I have not even had an idea to join in any photography events. However, yeah… I finally did it recently.

Last two weeks, on 18 July 09, my friend (Leo) and I took part in the Scott Kelby’s 2nd Annual Worldwide Photo Walk. Briefly, the photo walk is a social photography event where photographers get together, usually in downtown areas, to walk around, take photos and generally have fun with other photographers. We joined in a group of the three groups of the Chinatown route in Bangkok this year.

My group photo, one of three teams of the Chinatown walking route

Chinatown walking street

Chinatown map

We spent about two hours from 4-6pm. Walked along the pathway from Wat Trai-mitr to a main business road, Yaowarat Road, and meandered to many alleyways till we finished the walk at a seafood local restaurant for gathering moment and grabbed some dishes to fill up our stomach.

Well, I have to say it was the first time and probably only once time in my life that I had a chance to roaming around and taking photos in Bangkok Chinatown like this occasion. It was really fun and I will keep looking forward to the next year event.

Here… they are some photos from my own viewfinder.

A vespa

A worker at back door

A motorbike in alley

A thirsty cat

Roaming Pre Rup Temple – Unexpected sunny color

It was the first early morning that my friends and I agreed to get up very early because we wanted to see a beautiful sunrise scene. We decided to go to Pre Rup Temple instead of Angkor Wat to avoid crowd on sunrise photographs. We were not lucky as it was cloudy morning. There was slightly sunshine shone down upon the three reddish sandstone towers at the top of the temple.

We spent about an hours at the temple and then moved on to another site. However, we drove pass the Pre Rup Temple again on the return. At the moment we looked at the Pre Rup Temple while our car was moving, a group of yellow tone appeared in our eyes. There was a group of Cambodian monks were getting their group photo in front of the Pre Rup site. We knowed that it was going to be beautiful color in photos, yellow color together with the reddish and brownish stone. Without a reluctance, the car was pulled over and we quickly got off it. The rest was the moment of compensating sunny shine that we missed in the early morning there and yes, we were satisfied!

Roaming Ta Prohm Temple – Jungle Temple

I headlined that “The Great Explorer in Siem Reap” on my previous posting. Now, let’s imagine and pretend that you are an explorer and are walking into a forest… deep forest. There is no pathway. You even have to wade and cut small trees grown on the ground and make your own narrow path to keep moving and walking.  Suddenly, you stop because of a thing appears in front of you. The thing that may cause you to hold a breath. The thing that may make you feel stunning until you may could not stop thinking how the thing that happened. 

Yes, that was what I felt when I walked into the Ta Prohm Temple.  Even the walkpath to the Ta Prohm  Temple nowadays does not look like what I let you imagine. But you would feel that when you visit there.

Ta Prohm, intentionally left as it was found in the 19th century, appears enveloped by massive tree roots, tentacles that hold it in the convoluted grip of monstrous nature. Distorting the stonework in a way that creates a surreal effect.

Angkor Temples – the Great Explorer in Siem Reap, Cambodia

“See Angkor Wat and Die”, the speech of Arnold Throby, English’s historian and archeologist, describe how great and grandiose is the Angkor Wat.  There are so many words and phrases that people say about the Angkor Wat. And those could inspire lots of travelers and tourists making their journey to the one of the new Seven Wonders of the World.  

Recently I did travel to Siem Reap, Cambodia again after my first trip to the town in last few month ago.  I did not have a chance to visit the Angkor Temples at that time. I then expected that I could have a chance to see the temples during my second visit. Lucky, this time I stayed at a hotel which is not too far from the Angkor Temples. Thus, my friends and I managed ourselves to explore the magnificent archaeological monuments in very early morning and some days in late afternoon.

Angkor literally means “city”, the Khmer kings built their successive capitals and ruled over the greatest empire Southeast Asia has ever known.  For more than 600 years, from the early 9^th century to when it was finally abandoned in 1431 in the face of Thai onslaughts, Angkor was the heart of a rich and sophisticated civilization.

I will be posting more on the Angkor Temples. Please stay tuned and I hope you will enjoy the great explorer here.

Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park, Thailand

“Mountains of Three Hundred Peaks” –  I have been to Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park many times in the past years. However, apparently I have never made a destination to Phraya Nakhon Cave which is located in part of Limestone mountains of the National Park area. Well, I finally made a trip to there during the Songkarn holidays last week.

Taking a boat from the Laem Sala Beach is the easiest way to go to the cave. After 10-15 minutes riding a boat and landed on a beach, a short distant walking through the rainforest  leads you to a sign of another path to the cave. A 430m steep uphill mountain trek is the real way to take you to the cave. 

Approching a beach in front of the cave entrance

Phraya Nakhon Cave is actually two sinkholes whose roof has fallen in, letting in sunlight. If you could go through the rocky trek, there is the Subterranean sanctuary of the King Rama V’s pavilion which is well worth to your climbing effort to see. 

The Kuha Karuhas pavilion built for a visit by King Rama V in 1896.

 

The beautiful Thai-style Royal pavilion

Limestone wall in the cave