I have been following Angkor Photo Festival and Workshop for
almost last five six years. I have deep respect for it. So, when the program
coordinator and curator Francoise Callier emailed me for one of my works to be
exhibited over there, I did not put a second thought on it. I felt privileged
enough to be in one of the best photo festivals of the world. I started
preparing to go Siem Reap from that day. I just needed an excuse to go
Cambodia. Siem Reap is one of the best travel destinations of the world for its
famous Angkor Wat temple. This is the largest religious monument in the world with
the site measuring 162.6 hectares (1,626,000 m2; 402 acres). It was originally
constructed as a Hindu temple of god Vishnu for the Khmer Empire, gradually
transforming into a Buddhist temple toward the end of the 12th century. It was
built by the Khmer King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century in
Yaśodharapura (present-day Angkor), the capital of the Khmer Empire, as his
state temple and eventual mausoleum. The nearest Cambodian city from Angkor Wat
is Siem Reap. It was a great double bonanza for me to visit Angkor Wat and
enjoy the festival at same time. So, I boarded the flight from Kolkata to Siem
Reap via Kuala Lumpur.
After reaching there I started to feel the vibration of the
city bit differently. A city with broad roads with less traffic which I hardly
expect here in Kolkata. It made me curious to know the city better in night. I
heard a lot about the night life of Siem Reap before coming here. So, I decided
to go out at around nine and my first destination was Pub Street area, the
famous partying spot of the city. My hotel was quite nearby and I reached there
by just ten minutes of walk without any problem.
It was just like what I heard before. That is an area with
full of pubs, bars and restaurants. Wherever you see, you can only find foreign
tourists. They are jumping, singing and dancing all around. It’s hard to find
anyone who is not happy over there. One
can easily find nice foods and cheap beers at almost all the restaurants over
there. Everyone’s destination becomes Pub Street after sun goes down to relax
and enjoy. The nearby night market is open for whole night where one can find
different types of goods from souvenir to daily usable items. The market opens
almost whole night to cater huge influx of foreign tourists. This is somehow an
answer to Bangkok’s Khao Sun Road.
After
spending some time over there I decided to come back to hotel. When I just left
the area and crossed the river, I had a bizarre feeling. I just felt that I was
standing in quiet and tranquil environment and few minutes back it was
difficult to hear each other words. It was completely a different feeling. So,
I realized that two different souls are living in a single body here at the
same time.
So, I decided to move around the city in both the areas in night to feel this juxtaposition where one part is full of energy and other is just preparing to sleep. The areas outside the pub street and night market is completely different at night. The street lamps are pouring lights on Empty Street. Windows are closed. Cats and dogs are moving around. It was very difficult to match the environment which I left just meters away. I walked down almost everywhere and found same atmosphere almost everywhere. It cannot felt at day time by any chance. A small city becomes smaller and concentrated at particular area during night time, especially around midnight. I do not know that it is possible to feel the quietness without the loudness of the other part. I guess it is not. Because it is not first time I am experiencing quietness at night, but it was a different feeling altogether. If anyone stands just outside of the pub street area, she can hear the loud music coming out from the pubs and same time feel the silence of the other part just beside it where quietness is too strong. While I was walking through the street I was able to hear the sound of silence of the buildings, parked cars, closed doors of the shops and the street lights.
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