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S H U T T E R B U G S I N S I E M R E A P
Take a mystical landscape of historical ruins,
the remnants of a culture that once reigned supreme
over much of South-East Asia, a band of photographers
brimming with the energy of Lara Croft on steroids,
and what do you get? Magic, as Lester V. Ledesma
reports from their recent PhotoTreks: Angkor trip
Angkor
An
Adventure
THIS WAS
the same dusty road
hemmed by thick forest, which led
to the same city of ruins I had visited
countless times before. From my seat
at the head of the mini bus, I glimpsed
a familiar structure in the distance. Cast
against the morning sun, its five towers
formed a strikingly beautiful silhouette.
“Look to your right,” I called out
to my companions at the back. “Just
above the treeline — this is what we
came here to see!”
Inside our vehicle, everyone turned
to take in the view. A dozen jaws
dropped, and a dozen pairs of eyes
widened as they beheld Angkor Wat
for the first time. Despite the many
books, shows and postcards depicting
this ancient megastructure, nothing
compares to actually seeing it. Indeed,
the look on their faces alone was worth
the effort of bringing them all here.
And this was only day one of our
weekend-long adventure. This gang of
photography enthusiasts came from all
corners of the Philippines — Rodgen
Jabor from Iloilo, Maricel Flores-
Barnes from Manila, Dariel Quiogue
from Davao and Bobby and Glenda
Rodriguez from Cagayan de Oro —
and from far-off China, R’veen Rojas.
My plan was to take this group on a
whirlwind photo tour of Cambodia’s
age-old archaeological wonder, and
capture its many moods and nuances
along the way.
Contrary to popular belief, Angkor
isn’t just one temple. It actually refers to
the capital of the Khmer empire, which
was the most powerful in South-East
Asia for over 600 years. At the peak
of its power in 900 AD, its territory
stretched all the way from present-day
Myanmar to the west to Vietnam in the
east. At its heart lay Angkor, a city twice
the size of today’s Manila, and one that
was home to almost a million residents.
This metropolis was abandoned
after the empire collapsed in 1431, its
massive stone buildings left to crumble
until its 19th-century “rediscovery” by
the outside world.
The glory days of the Khmer may
have long gone, but its grandeur
remains literally etched in stone. This
was plainly evident as we made our
way into Angkor’s most iconic temple.
The PhotoTrekkers entered with
cameras blazing, documenting the
features of this ancient masterpiece.
Architects praise the symmetric design
of Angkor Wat, and we paid homage
to this by photographing its main
structure as reflected on a nearby pond.
The lotus-shaped
gopuras
mirrored
themselves on the still waters, forming
a scene so postcard-pretty it was
impossible to take a bad picture.
It was hard work pulling our
photographers away from Angkor
Wat, but there were more temples to
explore. We spent the rest of the day
in two other ruins — Ta Prohm, with its
toppled hallways and forest-encrusted
walls, and Bayon with its eerie stone
faces — before we headed back to
town.
Day two began with a drive and boat
trip down to the sleepy community of
Mechrey, on the banks of the Tonle
Sap Lake. If Angkor Wat told the Khmer
story in stone, this floating village
showed it to us in living, breathing
color. From the edge of our craft, the