I only spent a few days at Angkor Wat and that was back in the early 1990s. It's one of those places and times that, looking back, I wish digital…
Do you remember that scene in Slumdog Millionaire when the boys are hustling at the Taj Mahal? When I looked at the scan below as it came off my scanner earlier this year, that was the scene that flashed into my mind. Except this photo was taken in August 1989 outside a temple in Penang, Malaysia.
I usually feel somewhat unsettled taking photos in religious spaces, always concerned I'm interrupting an worshiper event though I'm not particularly religious myself. Many houses of worship don't allow tripods to be used and on this trip I wasn't carrying one anyway, so this is a hand-held shot in low light so I'm pleased with the way it turned out given the film was Fujichrome 100.
Here's another image of the roof detail on this Chinese Temple in Georgetown, Penang. Again we have figures in some form of scene or story. The structure behind them looks to be some form of elaborate ship. At right is the prow and in the middle appears to be a sail. I'm left wondering if these were pre-assembled before being mounted on the roof or if they were constructed in-situ.
Wandering around the outside of the temple I happened across this scene of a woman making an offering to her god. Clearly this furnace has been has been in service for quite a while. If you look closely you can see that it's raining - you can see the water running off the roof line at right. My guess is that the worshiper is trying to keep the rain off her face with her hand.
I was always struck by the ornate roof decorations of these buildings. Like the great cathedrals in Europe, there's a lot of attention to detail in these places of worship, and also an air of decay.