A visual diary: 2014

Friday, May 30, 2014

Cambodia

It is hot. It is really hot. And the humidity. I thought I was used to humidity, but wow this is something else. The air is thick like your aunt's thick pumpkin soup. It's an inescapable, unmoving mass that you have to wage battle with as you make your way under the relentless, burning sun. And when you're out visiting temples the only respite comes from the shade that the temples themselves create. Their shadows taking on the form of the stories carved into the walls. It's the dry season and if you go certain places that means that your sweat (and you will sweat, it's guaranteed) mixes with the dust kicked up from all the passing vehicles to slowly form a paste that cakes itself to every inch of your exposed skin. Your clothes slowly turn a shade of brown as they accumulate a layer of dust. But this distracts from a country of warm people making ends meet in a chaotic swirl of tuk-tuks and motorbikes. Two cities vastly different but equally interesting in a country linked together by both a rich and terrible history. The markets are dark, dirty. Patches of light filtering down from skylights and lonely light bulbs reveal the hidden wares being sold. Kids run between stalls making use of unused space for games. The scent of raw meat and mysterious things lying in the dark announce your arrival into a different section of the market. Monks instantly stand out from the crowd in their bright orange garments, and children kick a ball a stone's throw from the swarm of tourists making their way to and from Angkor Wat. Whole families whiz by on motorbikes, taking their place in the flow of traffic which itself is almost like a living, breathing beast. It's a totally different story outside the city where kids slowly bike home after school. Food vendors set up shop on the sides of streets creating restaurants to feed the transiting masses who sit on small, plastic chairs. They leave behind piles of napkins. This is from a few scant days in the country. I barely scratched the surface but that's the way things are.

Monday, April 7, 2014

I took a walk this morning when the sun's rays were still casting long shadows. The land was peaceful, the birds were chirping, and the air was fresh. For a moment I forgot all my troubles.

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, a country once torn apart by civil war and devastated by the tsunami in 2004. Today things are different. Things are developing, perhaps slowly, but developing nonetheless. I spent a few days there when the new year was still only a few weeks old. I remember stressful drives on narrow, winding, cliff side roads in the dark and in the rain. Clouds slowly filling up a valley as the sun rose from behind mountains. Elephants shaking off dirt from grass before eating it. Food that excited and filled the stomach. I barely scratched the surface of this country.