Entrance to the South Gate of Ankor Thom, en route to Bayon. Unfortunately, this is one of the two last photos of my digital camera's battery. Also unfortunately, the spare battery that I brought along on the trip was not charged. It was interesting, though, to tour the remaining temples with no other goal than to simply enjoy being there. It added a whole new dimension of my walks.  

Finally, this Cambodian matriarch really took me by surprise. Luckily, I was still walking and talking with Aeang, who speaks Khmer. This lovely lady stopped me to shake my hand and make a few gestures. Turned out she asked me to take her photo. She said (through Aeang) that she lost all of her photos in the "unpleasantness", a euphamism for Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s, when his charge to genocide killed over a million and a half of his own countrymen. All locals working to restore Ankor Wat, a relative newcomer to the archaelogical restoration effort, and all monks who worshipped here, were killed. Now, I could be naive, but this lady certainly has the testament of time and survivorship on her side. I didn't want to discourage her from the moment, and didn't have the nerve to reposition her in a place that allowed for more sunlight on the subject. But I felt honored that she asked me to take the photo. I am to mail it to her "when it gets developed", but she was quite happy to see the immediate digital display.  

Fantastic fans!
These photos are from a recent trip to the Botanic Gardens here in Singapore.

Mini yellow orchids and other greenery. 

These are my favorite palms in the region. They are a dusty green, my favorite color, and look razor sharp. I love their lines. 

Overhead canopy. 

Botanic Gardens Gazebo. 

These orchids, besides having many small flowers, also has a funky stalk. 

Great example of the landscaping and beautiful construction in Singapore's Botanic Gardens. Often on weekends it is common to see families picnicking and strolling along. 

Last weekend, I went to the Botanic Gardens for a short while. The skies were threatening, but I was able to give my new camera a try. Even thought it was low lighting, and I don't have a flash, I was able to capture a few shots.  

This is the Four Friends sailing yacht. Not sure how long it was...54 feet? We had a company sailing outing on Sunday, from the North end of the island to near Bintan, Indonesia, back up to Frog Island again on the north side. The skipper and his wife had fantastic stories....he evacuated her whole family from Vietnam during the war. The food was fantasic, and the 12 hour voyage thoroughly enjoyable. The best way to spend 911 was doing something thorougly enjoyable and appreciating the freedom to do so.

 

Hanging on for dear life! 

This was the second most fun I had on the sailing outage. We rigged up a sideboard cargo net for surfriding. Hanging on wasn't too hard, but especially fun over waves. Climbing back up to the top cross bar to reboard the vessel was the challenging part! 

Piloting through shipping lanes! 

Sailing through Singapore's shipping lanes.