(S2E3) Thoughts in pictures

Sometimes, a picture can tell a good story...

Hope in the temple relics

Early this year, at the onset of a deeply disrupted world, I visited three neighbouring Asian countries: Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. I shot this picture in Beng Mealca, an old temple in Cambodia. Unlike Angkor Wat, Bayon or Ta Prohm, this temple has never been restored or restructured by modern technology. What I saw there is exactly the original touch of a grand, ruined architecture complex. Bricks piled upon bricks, scattered in the almost empty area. Even though it was peak season in southeast Asia, I barely encountered large tourist groups. The novel coronavirus has almost wiped out the booming industry in this less developed but religiously content country.

Our local guide was a middle-aged man. After several rounds of casual chats on top of the professional tourist talk, he opened up himself and told me a short version of his life story. A man, growing up with no parents, experiencing bankruptcy, cheating and divorce, now is trying very hard to reset his life. He recently graduated from a local university and is a very happy man with beloved wife and children.

In the seemingly isolated Beng Mealca, I felt extremely attached to this ordinary man. He told me when he was facing bankruptcy and felt lost, he went to Bayon. The smiles of buddhas on the magnificent sculptures made him feel relieved, because at that moment, he saw hope. And he chose to start all over again.

That afternoon, I had the most beautifully surreal time in that ruined temple. A time full of birds’ singing, breeze in the tropical summer, and a story about hope.

Last time eating out before lockdown

When I was sitting at the dinner table, I never imagined this would be the last time I dined out before the lockdown. We went to a wine bar around the corner serving a rich menu of tapas. When it came to the dessert, I chose Spanish peppers to wrap up a night of enjoyment. I liked the sheer unique taste of this pepper: a touch of spicy, but not overdone; a drop of freshness with a smell of pan-fried vinegar.

After this meal, I have not been able to go out again. Home cooking becomes the main entertainment of the day.

A peak of culinary skills

Yes, the home cooking. It seems to have become the best way of killing time, the best form of distraction. It took me two hours to cook this Chinese-style chicken soup. I picked a corn-fed free-range chicken (according to the package), a bag of Chinese herb medicine to add to the flavour, gingers and dried jujubes. Everything was thrown in the pot at the same time based on my mum’s remote instruction. All I did in the next two hours was just stirring occasionally with a chopstick to ensure the chicken had not disappeared.

The benefits of Chinese-style chicken soup are ample: building up the immune system, gaining more strength, good for the skin and stomach and so on. After three bowls of delicious steamy soup, I naturally felt I was vibrating and strong enough to tackle any obstacles that might come in this lockdown.

I reached a peak of my culinary skills: tasty food and good body…