Shuri Castle Festival-首里城祭

A few days ago, I joined a tour with my family to visit Okinawa, Japan. We were lucky to see parts of Shuri Castle Festival during our trip there. They were holding various events to celebrate Ryukyu dynasty culture at Shurijo Castle and Naha's International Street. Shurijo Castle was the palace of the Kingdom. Now it's one of the important national cultural properties in Japan.  

Mazu Temples-進香團

Mazu is a patron goddess widely worshiped in China's coastal regions and also Taiwan. A local temple in my neighborhood has a tradition of borrowing the goddess statues from six famous temples in Taiwan, so a tour to these temples is held twice every year. My mother would join the neighbors for this religious ritual.

Several years ago, I started going to the tours with my mother and documenting this popular folk religion event. The photos posted here are those I took in a recent trip. 

Angkor--吳哥窟

Angkor, an important archaeological site in Siem Reap, Cambodia, includes the famous Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom and other temples. These magnificent ruins of the Khmer Empire have attracted huge visitors from all the world. In this visit, we spent three days to tour around this grand site and went through the jungles to visit numerous temples.

To witness the famous beauty of these religious monuments, we walked up and down in the temples to explore the religious stories of Hindu from the amazing stone carving figures. Besides, we got up early to see the sunrise at Angkor Wat and joined the crowd hiking to the top of Phnom Bakheng for the sunset. Even though we were exhausted from walking a lot in the hot weather, this cultural and spiritual trip was very enjoyable. 

空邦魯-Kompong Phhluk (2)

During the rainy season, the level of water at the Tonle Sap goes high and floods the nearby villages. Kompong Phhluk therefore becomes a floating village, and the villagers have to get on boats when they get out of their houses. In March when we visited this lovely place, it's the dry season, so the level of water at the lake and rivers was very low.

When Kompong Phhluk is not blooded, the villagers can walk on the streets, and the kids are able to play outside. We were later told that this place would be more beautiful when the whole village is floating on water. Even though it's dry then, we still think it's worthy to pay a visit there just to see how people can live their lives in a very simple way. Besides, the sunset on the Tonle Sap was beautiful.

空邦魯-Kompong Phhluk (1)

We took a six-hour bus ride from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. After getting there at night, we were exhausted a lot because of the tough road condition and decided to rest one day before the start of exploring the ancient temples in Angkor Wat. On the next day, the guest house where we stayed arranged for us a group tour to Kompong Phhluk in a good deal.

Kompong Phhluk is a floating village on the Tonle Sap, the largest lake in Southeast Asia. It took one hour to get there from Siem Reap. Around 2000 families live in this fishing village, where they built their houses high with woods and palm leaves. The residents there make their living from fishing on the Tonle Sap. Life is very simple and basic.

金邊-Phnom Penh

 

Recently a friend and I visited Cambodia for the first time. We flew to its largest city and the capital, Phnom Penh, where the streets are full of motor bikers and tuk tuk drivers. Even though very few traffic signals and stop signs are seen on the streets, drivers go through the intersections without any difficulty.

Because the guest house we stayed is near the riverside, I was able to have a walk there in the morning and sit there watching the locals and foreigners coming and going at night. The river is often seen with several small boats, where dwell the poorest level of the residents. Although the city didn't impress me too much, I like the friendliness and kindness of the people there.

Drying Veggies

During the Chinese New Year, my family and I visited Guanxi, a small town in Hsinchu County. There are several Hakka villages in this area, and Guanxi is one of them. Hakka folks are good at drying veggies and making preserved food. We saw a lot of sun drying vegetables outside and even some on a bridge.