My phone has been flashing Whatsapp notifications of Christmas greetings from my friends. The latest photo came from a dear friend who is in Siem Reap, Cambodia and showed him in front of immense tree roots that had overtaken the crumbling ancient walls around it.
I immediately recognised where this was taken at. It has got to be the Ta Prohm temple in the Angkor region.
Even though I had visited the temples in Siem Reap more than a decade ago, I still have vivid memories of some of the places and experiences.
In particular, the morning when we made our way to Angkor Wat before daybreak to catch the sunrise. This was one of those times when I was ‘wise’ enough to take a few photos before sitting back to enjoy the moment.
I had previously written a short description of this in my review of The Great Railway Bazaar by Paul Theroux. In that post, I included a quote from Theroux which is a good reminder of why we should embrace the “now“, instead of trying to take pictures of something that probably has been photographed a million times.
“If you take pictures, you tend not to look very hard at the thing that you’re taking a picture of. If you don’t take pictures, you look very hard and you remember much more of the experience that you’re looking at.”
Merry Christmas to all my readers and may the new year be as brilliant as this magnificent sunrise!
Angelina Hue 
I’m not sure I’d agree with Mr. Theroux, as I generally take a photograph AFTER I notice it. i not only look at it through my eyes but through the eyes of my camera or phone. In fact, i might look too long and miss the opportunity to snap a good photo. Anyway, nice choice for the challenge. 🙂
If you like, you’re welcome to come visit my challenge at:
https://fstopfantasy.wordpress.com/2015/12/25/weekly-photo-challenge-now-of-christmas/
Hi Cris, I think that his quote is more relevant to someone who is obsessively taking photos of a scene – imagine, a festival or sunrise – instead of taking time to enjoy the moment. Happy holidays to you!
When it all comes down to it, it’s all opinion anyway. LOL Sometimes it’s hard to really enjoy the moment, especially when I’m out driving and I can stop just long enough to get a couple of quick shots off before I become a hazard to traffic. Hee. Hee.
Happy Christmas to you and AB. Angkor is a magical place at sunrise. Go twice. Look once, photograph once!
Thank you Andrew! I hope that I’ll get to revisit the temples in the Angkor region and be able to spend more time exploring it 🙂