Building on the success of PMPE session 1, the PMPE session 2 was held on 1st to 7th June 2009. This time we extended the program by another day, so as to allow the participants more time to prepare for the nightly critique and photo  sharing sessions.  The critique and photo sharing session was viewed as an important and integral part of the program.

We covered the usual famed Angkor Wat Temple Complex shoots on the tourist trail at sunset, sunrise and a visit to 4  famed Temples, namely Angkor Wat, Bayon, Ta Prom and Preah Khan.

The rest of the photo trip were visits to a Rice Farming, Bamboo Crafts and Fishing Villages that were off the beaten track. We have made friends in all these places during our many visits to these places and the Villagers gave our participants a very warm welcomed. They allowed some of our participants to have a nap on their hammocks, shared their food, offered us a much needed thirst quencher-the coconut and we had a great time playing with the Village Kids. This time we even managed to organised a ride on the traditional “bullock cart”  around the Farming Community.

Photo shoots at traditional wet markets are considered a must in a photographer’s portfolio. A market tells us many things about the culture and traditions of the prople of a Place.  We went to two traditional wet markets, one in the city and one a local traditional wet market that was located off the beaten path.

We visited the famed Tonle Sap Lake. This lake is reputed to be the largest fresh water lake in South East Asia. In the dry season, from March to September, the lake shrank to only 30% of its original size. The Villagers stayed in stilt houses that were about 5 to 6m from the ground. In the wet season, the water level would rise about 5m and the Villagers would have to use small wooden boats for transportation.

The night critique and photo sharing sessions were the highlight of the trip. Participants shared and offered advice on how to improve the picture. Often these nights sessions would led to further “teh tarik” sessions where the participants would discussd anything under the sun.

Now that the participants were safely back on Malaysian soils, the Organisers were busy preparing for the 2nd coffee Table Book about the trip. This time the book is titled “Beyond Angkor”.