Cambodia - Photographs
Geert found Cambodia the poorest country he’d visited. The Khmers lived a hard life. He visited the towns in the South, capital Phnom Penh, Battambang and the ancient temples of Angkor Wat near Siem Reap.
En route he photographed the many hand painted signs and billboards, the way the Cambodians use all forms of transportation, and the S-21, the notorious Tuol Sleng Khmer Rouge prison in the capital.
The Vietnam - Cambodia border/Cambodia//
Bullock cart on the highway/Cambodia//
Fresh sugarcane liquid at the side of the road/Cambodia//
Old coke sign. The rust makes it more beautiful/On the road/Cambodia//
S-21 - Tuol Sleng prison, where the Khmer Rouge committed genocide. The old high school holds secrets of unbearable crimes/Phnom Penh/Cambodia//
Portraits of male prisoners at Tuol Sleng/Phnom Peng/Cambodia//
A lone bed in a cell at the prison/Phnom Penh/Cambodia//
Stop!/Cambodia//
Some like it hot/Cambodia//
Full/Cambodia//
More full/Cambodia//
Mines! Both Khmer Rouge and other forces left the country with an enormous amount of landmines. Here, locals are warned not to stray off the tracks and roads/Battambang/Cambodia//
These houses are under water when the water level in Tonle Sap rises. A yearly returning event/Battambang/Cambodia//
Tonlé Sap and Angkor Wat
From Battambang I cycled to the ferry port which was in a small village. The boat had a few tourists and took us into a myriad of waterways. It gave a splendid view at rural life on the edges of the lake. This time of the year the lake was quite low so it took a long time until we reached open water. When the monsoon rains come, the lake will rise by more than 10 metres. Many of the villages I cycled through before reaching the boat would then be submerged, only to be rebuilt after the water started to withdraw.
The boat took me to the town of Siem Reap which is the gateway town to Angkor Wat, which I visited the next couple of days
Leaving Pursat/Cambodia//
The skipper navigating our boat through a myriad of canals and waterways/Cambodia//
Kids looking on/Cambodia//
Watering the cows/Cambodia//
Kids playing in the water/Cambodia//
Smoky horizon/Cambodia//
On top of the boat with Stumpjumper at my feet/Cambodia//
Life on water/Cambodia//
And more/Cambodia//
Approaching Angkor Wat/Cambodia//
Sketching one of the entrances to Angkor Wat/Cambodia//
Angkor Wat from across the moat/Cambodia//
Detailed reliefs/Cambodia//
Play with light/Cambodia//
And more/Cambodia//
Reclining Buddha/Cambodia
Inside/Cambodia//
Kids at play/Cambodia//
Stone elephant/Cambodia//
More trunks/Cambodia//
Dusty floor/Cambodia//
Light play/Cambodia//
Walking to Ta Prohm/Cambodia//
Ta Prohm temples/Cambodia//
Signs of Cambodia
A random selection of signs and billboards. Often hand lettered and hand painted
Getting in trouble on Koh Rougniev
From Kratie I took a boat to the island Koh Rougniev. Here I was going to stay a few nights in homestays - which aids local tourism. From there I was to ride North to the end of this long, sandy Mekong island, after which I would take another boat back to the mainland.
I didn’t get that far but got lost in a fan of small and very sandy trails when the signage had miraculously stopped. I pushed and dragged Stumpjumper through the sand until I started to get exhausted. I decided to stay the night and sat against an old log in a burnt area.
The next morning I tried to find my trail, rode back, but collapsed under a tree where I was found by a local on a scooter. He took me to a homestay where i was washed, fed, and re-hydrated by a group of old women.
Later that evening I was transported back to Kratie on a narrow long boat where I was admitted to the hospital and witnessed the most primitive conditions I have ever seen. My ward was full and I was surrounded by the poorest of the poor. It made me feel very humble
Food cart/Kampong Cham/Cambodia//
Chooks/Kampong Cham/Cambodia//
Football with a cow/On the road/Cambodia//
Boys/On the road/Cambodia//
Dusty ride/On the road/Cambodia
On the road/Cambodia//
On the road/Cambodia//
School girls interested in my sketching/On the road/Cambodia//
Dinner at the homestay/Koh Rougniev/Cambodia
Inside the homestay on Koh Rougniev/Cambodia
Kitchen of the homestay on Koh Rougniev/Cambodia
My hosts at the homestay on Koh Rougniev/Cambodia
Looking for the Irrawaddy dolphins on the Mekong/Cambodia
Visiting the primary school on Koh Rougniev/Cambodia
Visiting a school on Koh Rougniev/Cambodia
Stumpjumper resting under the homestay on Koh Rougniev/Cambodia//
On the mountainbike trail on Koh Rougniev/Cambodia//
Near my sleepless camp on Koh Rougniev/Cambodia//
My neighbour in the Kratie Hospital/Cambodia//
In the Kratie Hospital/Cambodia//
The ward in the Kratie Hospital/Cambodia//
The river/Cambodia//
Riverfront in Kratie/Cambodia
The river/Cambodia