Monks at the Museum

N11°33.851'
E104°58.625' 

A group of monks admiring the art at the National Museum of Cambodia in Phnom Penh. Something comforting about all the swatches of saffron gliding through the garden. More monks than tourists at the museum on this day.  

Find the Rattan

N18°08.604'
E104°55.584' 

When I talk about rattan inventories (see Thin Red Line and More Rattan Counting), its important to remember that the field crews have to count and record the rattan plants in all size classes. Even the very small seedlings. This can be, as you might imagine, a very tedious and time-consuming task.  For example, can you find the two Calamus seedlings in the image above? Now scroll down and look at the image below. See what I mean about tedious and time-consuming? And the crews have to stay focused and keep looking plot after plot after plot.  

Pétanque

N18°11.664'
E104°38.346' 

A triptych of images from an ill-fated pétanque set in Lak Sao in which my team failed to score any points in three different games. Image above shows Bansa (see Training in Lak Sao) throwing out his first boule. [NOTE: Bansa is wearing a lovely Hawaiian shirt].

Boules aligned around the cochonnet, or jack. Note that the two engraved boules, belonging to the opposing team, are the closest to the jack.

Scorekeeper slides the opposing team's scale to 3 as the round finishes. My team is still at zero. We stayed at zero the whole game. [NOTE: It was not entirely my fault.]. 

Thong Namy Market

N18°10.314'
E104°14.143' 

A brief tour through the local market at Thong Namy in Bolikhamsai Province, Laos. We always stop here to get supplies. e.g. bananas, nuts, cookies, small brass Buddha statues,  on the way back to Vientiane from Lak Sao (see Training in Lak Sao). My WWF colleagues say that this is a good place to see threatened and endangered wildlife - offered for sale as bushmeat. I was more taken by the incredible diversity of Cucurbitaceae and medicinal plants. [NOTE: Music is "The Hearts of Empty" by Dakota Suite].

More Red Lines

N18°08.604'
E104°55.584' 

Still life from Donsard, Laos (see Donsard) as we are getting all of the equipment sorted out to run inventory transects. Compasses, clipboards, tally sheets, and the knotted red transect rope used to correct for slope and layout the plot (see Thin Red Line).

Gulf of Thailand

N10°32.950'
E104°02.689 

After finishing up the rattan transects in the buffer zone at Bokor (see Best.Hat.Ever.), we drove down to the Nataya Resort on the coast of the Guf of Thailand for some cold beverages and a game of pétanque. As is shown above, the view was gorgeous. That's the Vietnamese island of Phú Quốc in the background. [NOTE: I was on the team with Phearoon and Sinourn for the pétanque match; we lost both games. I'm a pretty lousy pétanque player].

Monk

Taken in one of the side streets of Phnom Penh during my walk to the Silver Pagoda (see Silver Pagoda). A saffron robe, a shoulder bag, and a begging bowl. Period. [NOTE: The mix of colors and the mood is what draws me into this photo].

Rattan Splitter

N10°43.074'
E103°48.755' 

On the way back from Kampot we stopped at a small rattan factory in the village of Veal Rinh. Really great place, and the factory buys raw material from several of the communities that I am working with. I was especially taken by the rattan splitting machine. Noisy, smoky, and a bit clunky, but it's a beatiful piece of equipment and it certainly does the job. [NOTE: You can download a high resolution image of this noble machine here. Lovely background for the desktop].   

Best. Hat. Ever.

Chhin Sinourn did a fantastic job running compass during the rattan inventories in the buffer zone of the Preah Monivong National Park (a.k.a. Phnom Bokor National Park). And she certainly won the prize for best headgear. Was a real pleasure doing fieldwork with my Cambodian collaborators. [NOTE: I love all the reds in this image: her shirt, the compass string, the blessing string around her wrist].

The Monk and The Schoolgirl

N11°33.851'
E104°58.265' 

Walked down to the National Museum of Cambodia this afternoon. Undoubtedly the finest collection of Khmer sculpture in the world; spans over a millenia beginning with the pre-Angkorian period (approx. 500-800 A.D.). I spent over an hour gazing at the statues (thx, Phaeroon). Unfortunately, photography is strictly prohibited in the museum, so I am unable to show any of the sculptures.  I can, however, show some of the interactions that I noted in the courtyard. [NOTE: I assume that's a statue of Ganesh in the background].

Reminds me of the story of Tanzan and Ekido:

Tanzan and Ekido were once travelling together down a muddy road. A heavy rain was falling.

Coming around a bend, they met a lovely girl in a silk kimono and sash, unable to cross the intersection.

"Come on, girl," said Tanzan at once. Lifting her in his arms, he carried her over the mud.

Ekido did not speak again until that night when they reached a lodging temple. Then he no longer could restrain himself. "We monks don't go near females," he told Tanzan, "especially not young and lovely ones. It is dangerous. Why did you do that?"

"I left the girl there," said Tanzan. "Are you still carrying her?"

from 101 Zen Stories by Nyogen Senzaki (see Drink Tea, Stop War)