Friday 1 April 2016

A is for April and Angkor


April has arrived
armed with a challenge
at my doorstep.

Alarmed,
I hesitate.

Doubts smudge the blank spaces on my screen.
The cursor pulses and hovers
fingers hang mid-air
unwilling to commit
to the keys on the board.

The muse is missing and the mind is blank.

April smirks.

How could he know?
Did March blab?

He must have.
March was there when my
procrastination morphed into an addiction
I couldn't shake.
Netflix!
House of Cards: series 1,2 and 3
followed
Doc Martin: series 1,2, 3, 4 and 6

But, I'm sick.
I plead my case.

April rolls his eyes and I know he knows:
I'm hiding behind my antibiotics.

His accusations are accurate.

I better switch off that telly.
Get my butt off the sofa.
And type.

Or at least download those pictures I clicked in 2013
in Angkor
and share.


The Sun rises in Angkor Wat

and peeps through the pillars

The Bayon

Sometimes two halves are better than a whole.


And sometimes the mirror reflects more.
(I've used mirror image to create this collage...hope you like it. I do.)

My favourite temple: Banteay Srei

When trees take over:
Ta Prohm temple

Angkor Thom

Sunset rocks

It's been almost three years since my trip to Cambodia, but I still can't bring myself to write about it. The people I met there, the ones who've overcome odds so great I can't even begin to fathom, have become my heroes. But, whenever I sit down to write about them, I hesitate almost like one does when one enters a temple or a church. Am I ready, I ask. Not yet, reply my fingers as they stop typing.

Thanks to the A to Z Challenge, I've managed to download the pictures I clicked in December 2013. This may be the first step, perhaps. Who knows. 

29 comments:

  1. April approves! lol
    May doors open to old vistas and new insights as you travel A to Z. I am blessed to accompany you on this journey of self-discovery, a journey that I foound to be a of rite of passage into second half of life.
    “All shall be well, and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well.” Julian of Norwich 1341 - 1415

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    1. Ha! Ha! now you know why you were in my thoughts when I wrote this:) Thank you.
      Love the quote. hugs. xx

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    2. April is never far from our thoughts eh? I am still in that 'dithery' place....cant get myself to sit down and write anything. Something or the other seems to hold me back..... i think i need to go back to Doha and perhaps CNAQ again!
      Meanwhile, thanks for sharing the stunning Angkor Wat photos....there is something special about the temples in those parts of the world, (my travels have taken me to the ones in Bali ) the peace and calm brings on a air of divinity and is such a far cry from the cacophony and chaos of temples in India.

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    3. Yes, the serenity of Angkor is special. Although, there are a few places in India, too, where one can be at peace without the throngs-- you just have to walk/trek to get there:) Come to Doha and become my writing partner.

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  2. Your poem reminds me that time goes by too quickly. Excited for the April Challenge, but where did the previous months go? They went by much too fast.

    Mary
    Twitter: @KnottyMarie
    Literary Gold
    Jingle Jangle Jungle

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for visiting Mary and boy! do I know that feeling.

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  3. I really enjoyed reading this post! I think I caught the same procrastination bug! Great pictures, my favorites are the Angkor Thom and Ta Prom Temple.

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  4. Awesome! Pictures and the description! Very expressive!

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  5. Awesome! Pictures and the description! Very expressive!

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  6. so beautiful, felt your deep love for this place.

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    1. Cheers Erica. Not just the temples, the people there are beautiful, too.

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  7. I am visiting from the a-z challenge. Your photos are amazing.

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  8. Loved your introduction, your poem captures exactly how I feel right now about this challenge. But hey, we can do this! I love those pictures too so stunning!

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    1. Thank you Miss Andi:) We can do this; I feel it in my guts.

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  9. Ah procrastination! Loved the poem but your photos are fantastic!
    Thanks for coming by.

    Naila Moon of Reading Authors (A-Z Challenge)
    http://readingauthors.blogspot.com/

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  10. I love that you have taken up the challenge. I just read 'A' and 'B' together: both talk about sharing things you have not been able to write about before. It is much harder in 'brother' than here and I love you for that. Thank you for writing. Thank you for sharing : it is a difficult thing to do, especially since you don't know who all will be reading your words and what their reaction will be. It takes a lot of courage.

    - xx Shweta

    PS- You inspire me to take to writing again, each time I read your blog.
    " Am I ready, I ask. Not yet, reply my fingers as they stop typing." :) Someday

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    1. Oye Shweta, you can't pinch my excuse! PLEASE start writing again. I've loved all that I've ever read written by you. May today the 'someday.' THANK YOU with all my heart. One of the things I'm working on is to distance myself from being 'needy' of getting positive comments. Does that make sense? Someday, just writing will be enough. eh?

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  11. Excellent writing! God bless ��

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  12. Arti: Thanks for bringing to us less fortunate - not having been to this Blessed land - the wonderful Cambodia. A country filled with history, tragedy, unique temples, kindness, generosity and extreme cruelty too - typifying what is the human race in all it's glory and gory - Shukran habibi - FatRadioMan

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Raj for stopping by. You said it so well...yes, the glory and gory of our race in its uncensored form. Hope to see you here often habibi. x

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  13. Seen lots of images from Angkor- none like these

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    1. Thank you doctor:) You do realize that I've used 'mirror image' option to create that monk collage...they don't look like that:) Seriously though, thank you.

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    2. They'd be Siamese if they did ;)

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