Dedicated
Very old women burning incense...
At Angkor Wat, a huge temple complex near Siem Reap, and one of the reasons Siem Reap is so popular amongst tourists.
...
Recently (time of writing: 2022) also in the news, because some tourists thought it fun to take photos of their bare ass there, much to the upset of the local people (and then it became some kind of challenge and more tourists started taking nude photos there). Now, I get the fun and pranks of younger people, but have some respect. See this older women, probably well in her eighties, if not nineties, burning incense, and think how she would feel if you drop your pants in front of her (assuming she still has enough eye sight left to see your dangling stuff or bouncy buttocks)? To Cambodians this complex is still a living temple (which makes it a lot more interesting than just a bunch of ruins). Some Cambodians spend a lot of their hard earned money to travel half the country to pray there. Also note that authorities will prosecute, fine, deport and ban you from the country for years, if you get caught there with your pants down.
Similar nonsense was going on overhere, in Malaysia, where tourists stripped down on mount Kinabalu, in Sabah (Borneo), apparently not realizing the locals consider it a sacred mountain; you definitely do not want to piss it off by going naked on it (the tourists were fined and deported after spending some days in jail). Then there was the Dutch guy - also in Cambodia I think - who stormed into a temple to pull the plug on music they were playing through a speaker, because the music kept him awake in his hotel room (I do get the frustration, but please...). He was lucky he wasn't lynched by locals. It's all not only respectless, it shows complete ignorance. Read up a bit before you visit far away countries and know the basic do's and don'ts, especially when it comes to religion.
...
Personally, to be honest, I didn't care much for Angkor Wat. It was hot and I was recovering from food poisoning - still a bit feverish - (the day before I had spent in the hotel room, oozing from all openings), so that probably didn't help. It did land me this photo though, which I like very much. But overall I enjoyed the city of Siem Reap better.
See the album 'Angkor Wat 2006' on the main page for more photos.
Canon EOS 350D with Canon EF-S 60mm Macro f/2.8
Siem Reap, Cambodia - 26 December 2006
Very old women burning incense...
At Angkor Wat, a huge temple complex near Siem Reap, and one of the reasons Siem Reap is so popular amongst tourists.
...
At Angkor Wat, a huge temple complex near Siem Reap, and one of the reasons Siem Reap is so popular amongst tourists.
...
Recently (time of writing: 2022) also in the news, because some tourists thought it fun to take photos of their bare ass there, much to the upset of the local people (and then it became some kind of challenge and more tourists started taking nude photos there). Now, I get the fun and pranks of younger people, but have some respect. See this older women, probably well in her eighties, if not nineties, burning incense, and think how she would feel if you drop your pants in front of her (assuming she still has enough eye sight left to see your dangling stuff or bouncy buttocks)? To Cambodians this complex is still a living temple (which makes it a lot more interesting than just a bunch of ruins). Some Cambodians spend a lot of their hard earned money to travel half the country to pray there. Also note that authorities will prosecute, fine, deport and ban you from the country for years, if you get caught there with your pants down.
Similar nonsense was going on overhere, in Malaysia, where tourists stripped down on mount Kinabalu, in Sabah (Borneo), apparently not realizing the locals consider it a sacred mountain; you definitely do not want to piss it off by going naked on it (the tourists were fined and deported after spending some days in jail). Then there was the Dutch guy - also in Cambodia I think - who stormed into a temple to pull the plug on music they were playing through a speaker, because the music kept him awake in his hotel room (I do get the frustration, but please...). He was lucky he wasn't lynched by locals. It's all not only respectless, it shows complete ignorance. Read up a bit before you visit far away countries and know the basic do's and don'ts, especially when it comes to religion.
Similar nonsense was going on overhere, in Malaysia, where tourists stripped down on mount Kinabalu, in Sabah (Borneo), apparently not realizing the locals consider it a sacred mountain; you definitely do not want to piss it off by going naked on it (the tourists were fined and deported after spending some days in jail). Then there was the Dutch guy - also in Cambodia I think - who stormed into a temple to pull the plug on music they were playing through a speaker, because the music kept him awake in his hotel room (I do get the frustration, but please...). He was lucky he wasn't lynched by locals. It's all not only respectless, it shows complete ignorance. Read up a bit before you visit far away countries and know the basic do's and don'ts, especially when it comes to religion.
...
Personally, to be honest, I didn't care much for Angkor Wat. It was hot and I was recovering from food poisoning - still a bit feverish - (the day before I had spent in the hotel room, oozing from all openings), so that probably didn't help. It did land me this photo though, which I like very much. But overall I enjoyed the city of Siem Reap better.
See the album 'Angkor Wat 2006' on the main page for more photos.
Canon EOS 350D with Canon EF-S 60mm Macro f/2.8
Siem Reap, Cambodia - 26 December 2006
See the album 'Angkor Wat 2006' on the main page for more photos.
Canon EOS 350D with Canon EF-S 60mm Macro f/2.8
Siem Reap, Cambodia - 26 December 2006