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Published: February 17th 2010
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This morning we were not pleasantly surprised by our shower. It hardly qualifies to be called a shower - it should be called a trickle! We are not really sure if it is a water pressure problem or an actual fault with the shower head?? Still, it is only a minor irritant, not the end of the world!! Although I do love my shower!!! Apart from this slight criticism we still think that the Pavilion Hotel is quite charming and would recommend it to anyone planning a visit it Phnom Penh.
After washing under our trickle of water, we headed out to the courtyard where we breakfasted by the pool. We started with passionfruit juice and fresh fruit. Bernie had an omelette and I settled for some bread and jam with green tea.
With our tummies full and our teeth cleaned, we went out the front and organised a tuk tuk to take us to 136th Street for our photography tutorial and tour. We arrived about 15 minutes early so chatted with Kirstie, the other participant on the course, until 9.00am when the three of us ventured up to Nathan’s ‘So Shoot Me’ studio. What a fantastic space was
hidden away on the first floor by a very unprepossessing facade!!
We spent the morning learning all about the technical, aesthetic and ethical aspects of travel photography. Nathan proved to be a great teacher and helped me to understand more about f stops and ISOs than Bernie has been able to drum into me in the last 12 (18?) months since I inherited his hand-me-down digital SLR!!! Nathan had real ‘street cred’ having a formal photographic arts qualification as well as heaps of experience as a commercial and travel photographer. Anyone interested in travel photography, especially in SE Asia should check out his website at
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Kirstie’s husband, Paul, joined us for the afternoon’s practical session which saw us setting off in a minibus for Kompong Chnang, a floating village on the Tonle Sap just an hour and half from Phnom Penh. Once there, we took a boat trip around the village observing the life that the residents lead living and working on the water.
From Kompong Chnang, we headed back towards Phnom Penh. Before we reached the capital we headed off the main road to visit Udong, which served as the capital of Cambodia between 1618 and 1866. Udong consists of two hills that rise dramatically from the surrounding plains. The hills are littered with stupas (Buddhist shrines) that make great photographic subjects at sunset. It was quite a climb to reach the top of the hill, but well worth it for the panoramic views and the benefit of the late afternoon sun falling on the stupas. The climb back down the stairs in the twilight was undertaken with some trepidation (where were our head torches when we needed them), but managed without an accident!! After a very full day, we were back in Phnom Penh around 7.30pm.
Back at the Pavilion we washed our feet which were absolutely filthy and then headed out for another fairly local meal at a restaurant just a couple of doors away from the Tamarind Restaurant. At the time of writing this we can’t quite recall if it was called The Lemon Tree or The Lemongrass Restaurant!!! This time we decided on more traditional Cambodian/Khmer food and chose a spicy beef dish and a ginger chicken dish. When the food was delivered, the ginger chicken was ginger fish, but we were so hungry we told the waitress not
to worry about it - we would eat the fish!!! Lucky we both eat seafood, eh? Anyway, the ginger fish turned out to be delicious and the spicy beef about as tender as an old boot. Tasty, though!
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Sandra
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udong looks superb - lovely pics