Another one of those blankety-blank tourists, no doubt. I think she's holding a fingernail cam.
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The truth is, I hired the dancer to accompany me to Preah Khan in the early morning when I believed there would be few tourists around. Unfortunatelyh, the sun did not co-operate and the lighting was flat, but what could I do!!
For those not familiar with Khmer culture, almost all the temples are adorned with bas reliefs of celestial nymphs called Apsaras. Prince Sihanouk's mother tried to revive this ancient tradition of dancing, so today in certain reastaurants in Siem Reap, the tradition is continued and one can see it and photograph it for the price of a buffet dinner.
Unfortunately, the backdrop on stage is a bit tacky. A modern Apsara against the original, ancient backdrop would be preferrable, I thought.
But what to do with those masses of tourists? I did exactly as Bob has now suggested. Went to the outer temples early in the morning.
Actually, the reaction of other tourists is rather amusing when they came across me photographing a contemporary Apsara(s). Most of them wanted to be photographed standing next to the dancer. They weren't at all interested in photographing the dancer in front of a spectacular piece of ancient architecture.
It seems to me, that for the most part, the average tourist is most intereasted in placing himself/herself in front of, or beside, any thing (or person) interesting and exotic.
Can we draw some deductions and inferences with regard to, perhaps, the mundane, suburban existence of the average tourist who perhaps craves for any association at all with the unusual and exotic? Or am I being too analytical?