Ta Prohm - "overgrown temple"
Smiling face of Vantha, our guide
Angkor Thom, Bayon Temple - "happy faces"
Happy faces make us happy
Angkor Wat - wow!
Intrepid Travel group photo - so many nice people share this Classic Cambodia Tour.
Casa Angkor Hotel, Siem Reap
I have a balconey!
My first glimpse of Angkor Wat from the purple bus
G'day mates - Happy Australia Day
on Pub Street in Siem Reap
Bayon Temple of happy faces expresses joy and fun! Still a large temple of worship, but it did not have a king. People of the village built it and lived around in the jungle. I enjoyed the magical maze – wonderful feeling seeing all the smiling faces of rock.
Our guide is Sekchanvatha Eng, and we call him Vantha. What a happy face he has. He takes us to a local restaurant for lunch. I enjoy a vegetable amok in the coconut shell. I love the soda water, too. Vantha tells us how when he was a boy he used to fish for the Siamese fish in the moat around the temple – fighting fish – when you put each in a separate glass and hold the glasses up next to each other, the fish get angry and change color! Vantha shares many stories from his childhood before the tourist started to come in the early 1990s. Tourism is good and he is all for us visiting his town, but he harkens back to the days when he lived in the small village around the temple. I see the dirt paths leading off from the main road. I imagine what is around the corner and down the way deeper into the jungle. Vantha tells me the paths go on forever.
After our midday rest, we head to TaProhm temple, the overgrown temple. 80,000 people lived here in the 12th century! Now nature is claiming the territory. One statue was removed and taken by the French back to France. I must find the correct spelling of ‘pranhabahameta’ and where the statue is – the Gueme Museum? When I go to Paris, I will take a photo and send it to Vantha! Every corner we turned makes us oooh and ahhhh as the sight of tree roots grabbing the stone amazes us.
Smiling face of Vantha, our guide
Angkor Thom, Bayon Temple - "happy faces"
Happy faces make us happy
Angkor Wat - wow!
Intrepid Travel group photo - so many nice people share this Classic Cambodia Tour.
Casa Angkor Hotel, Siem Reap
I have a balconey!
My first glimpse of Angkor Wat from the purple bus
G'day mates - Happy Australia Day
on Pub Street in Siem Reap
Siem Reap is another Cambodian city – smaller than Phom Penh, but still a city with its hustle and bustle. From the airport we drive by farms, people with daily colorful duties, oxen, and cows. I am not snapping photos like I did previously. Am I getting used to these scenes?
Arriving on Wednesday afternoon, we take a walking tour of the city. As we walk down “Pub St”, we realize it is Australia Day! I find some Aussie mates to pose with me for a photo with the flag boasting the Southern Cross. The old French architecture is quaint, but I long for open spaces and a quiet place. Our hotel is a modified older one, and nice, I have a balcony. I imagine days of the past when this was the grand place to stay. No free wifi makes me feel so far away from home.
Arriving on Wednesday afternoon, we take a walking tour of the city. As we walk down “Pub St”, we realize it is Australia Day! I find some Aussie mates to pose with me for a photo with the flag boasting the Southern Cross. The old French architecture is quaint, but I long for open spaces and a quiet place. Our hotel is a modified older one, and nice, I have a balcony. I imagine days of the past when this was the grand place to stay. No free wifi makes me feel so far away from home.
I skype with Jim this morning, he tells me he found a National Geographic from 1982 telling all about Cambodian history and the Killing Fields. He reads about Ankgor Wat in the NGS magazine, too. This makes me think of Jim’s great grandparents, Elsie and Gilbert Grosvenor, who traveled around the world at the turn of the last century. I wonder what Angkor Wat looked like to them? Apparently this monument site is on the scale of the Aztec pyramids and other great wonders of the world. I have no idea the magnitude of what I am about to see.
This morning – Thursday, I am thinking about being home. Last night was rough. My bed feels like I must be sleeping on Bald Rocks. Something I never want to do! Having been bitten - actually attacked - by bugs on my legs, I wake with nightmares of malaria and worse. I count 80 bites – not sure where I got them. Street noise from my corner room keeps disturbing me as I try to sleep. By 6 am I quit trying. After a shower, surprisingly I feel okay. Attitude is everything. Bolstered by a video skype call with Jim, Fraser and Brody I am ready to see some ancient ruins.
Now I go explore Ankgor Wat.
Wow! I am back at the hotel from 2:30-3:30pm for a needed rest, too much wonder for one morning! I only took 235 photos. Angkor Wat is a massive square temple with the huge open spaces I need to see. Bass relief circling the outside wall of the inner building tells the story of the Hindu teachings. I imagine the subjects of the king hauling stone, engineering structures, and carving designs in the 12 -13th centuries. Did it only take them 30 years to build this monstrosity, I mean, temple. No one lived in the temple – only for worship. Look at my Picassa album for more pictures.
This morning – Thursday, I am thinking about being home. Last night was rough. My bed feels like I must be sleeping on Bald Rocks. Something I never want to do! Having been bitten - actually attacked - by bugs on my legs, I wake with nightmares of malaria and worse. I count 80 bites – not sure where I got them. Street noise from my corner room keeps disturbing me as I try to sleep. By 6 am I quit trying. After a shower, surprisingly I feel okay. Attitude is everything. Bolstered by a video skype call with Jim, Fraser and Brody I am ready to see some ancient ruins.
Now I go explore Ankgor Wat.
Wow! I am back at the hotel from 2:30-3:30pm for a needed rest, too much wonder for one morning! I only took 235 photos. Angkor Wat is a massive square temple with the huge open spaces I need to see. Bass relief circling the outside wall of the inner building tells the story of the Hindu teachings. I imagine the subjects of the king hauling stone, engineering structures, and carving designs in the 12 -13th centuries. Did it only take them 30 years to build this monstrosity, I mean, temple. No one lived in the temple – only for worship. Look at my Picassa album for more pictures.
Bayon Temple of happy faces expresses joy and fun! Still a large temple of worship, but it did not have a king. People of the village built it and lived around in the jungle. I enjoyed the magical maze – wonderful feeling seeing all the smiling faces of rock.
Our guide is Sekchanvatha Eng, and we call him Vantha. What a happy face he has. He takes us to a local restaurant for lunch. I enjoy a vegetable amok in the coconut shell. I love the soda water, too. Vantha tells us how when he was a boy he used to fish for the Siamese fish in the moat around the temple – fighting fish – when you put each in a separate glass and hold the glasses up next to each other, the fish get angry and change color! Vantha shares many stories from his childhood before the tourist started to come in the early 1990s. Tourism is good and he is all for us visiting his town, but he harkens back to the days when he lived in the small village around the temple. I see the dirt paths leading off from the main road. I imagine what is around the corner and down the way deeper into the jungle. Vantha tells me the paths go on forever.
After our midday rest, we head to TaProhm temple, the overgrown temple. 80,000 people lived here in the 12th century! Now nature is claiming the territory. One statue was removed and taken by the French back to France. I must find the correct spelling of ‘pranhabahameta’ and where the statue is – the Gueme Museum? When I go to Paris, I will take a photo and send it to Vantha! Every corner we turned makes us oooh and ahhhh as the sight of tree roots grabbing the stone amazes us.
Prerup Temple from the 10th century is where we go for sunset. Steep steps take us up high to be in the sky to see a bright sun set.
And, it is not over yet. Vhanta wants us to meet in the lobby at 7:30pm. We will ride in the ‘romorks’ to a nice restaurant for dinner. I am happy with my thoughts of Angkor Wat and all the other temples. I like to listen to my fellow travelers at dinner – as we share our views from such a wonderful day. Days like this do not happen very often
And, it is not over yet. Vhanta wants us to meet in the lobby at 7:30pm. We will ride in the ‘romorks’ to a nice restaurant for dinner. I am happy with my thoughts of Angkor Wat and all the other temples. I like to listen to my fellow travelers at dinner – as we share our views from such a wonderful day. Days like this do not happen very often
No comments:
Post a Comment