Wednesday, October 20, 2010
7:34 PM
2010 Vietnam Cambodia trip - Day 13, Angkor Archaeological Park
the angkor region is oso another UNESCO world heritage site, built during the khmer empire by the various kings during the 9th-13th centuries, spreading over 1000 sq km. the temples r built to worship e 3 impt hindu gods: brahma (the creater), vishnu (the preserver) & shiva (the destroyer).the whole angkor park covers a super big area:
most famous of all is of course angkor wat, e prime attraction & e symbol of cambodia, which oso appears on its national flag. kian & i were wondering how e kids learn to draw their national flag in sch, which is so complicated, our guide told us dat they'll jus draw 3 triangles. lol! this is how complicated e drawings r:
anyway, we started our day at 5am for the famous angkor wat sunrise...
e famous "reflection" pic... 
angkor wat, meaning city temple, is a hindu temple dedicated to the god vishnu. it consists of 3 lvls & 5 towers shaped like lotus bud. the whole area is surrounded by a moat. angkor wat is famous for its extensive decorations & beautiful cravings on e walls. e whole complex were jus built wif stones without any mortar. it's really amazing how tightly stacked e stones r in order to not collapsed. n how did e ppl transport all e stones then? i read on wikipedia dat an engineer estimated it'll take 300 yrs to complete angkor wat today, but e ancient ppl did it in 40 yrs!
nx up we've angkor thom, consisting of prasat bayon, terrance of e elephants, royal palace, victory gate, etc.
the angkor region is oso another UNESCO world heritage site, built during the khmer empire by the various kings during the 9th-13th centuries, spreading over 1000 sq km. the temples r built to worship e 3 impt hindu gods: brahma (the creater), vishnu (the preserver) & shiva (the destroyer).the whole angkor park covers a super big area:
most famous of all is of course angkor wat, e prime attraction & e symbol of cambodia, which oso appears on its national flag. kian & i were wondering how e kids learn to draw their national flag in sch, which is so complicated, our guide told us dat they'll jus draw 3 triangles. lol! this is how complicated e drawings r:
anyway, we started our day at 5am for the famous angkor wat sunrise...
e famous "reflection" pic... 
angkor wat, meaning city temple, is a hindu temple dedicated to the god vishnu. it consists of 3 lvls & 5 towers shaped like lotus bud. the whole area is surrounded by a moat. angkor wat is famous for its extensive decorations & beautiful cravings on e walls. e whole complex were jus built wif stones without any mortar. it's really amazing how tightly stacked e stones r in order to not collapsed. n how did e ppl transport all e stones then? i read on wikipedia dat an engineer estimated it'll take 300 yrs to complete angkor wat today, but e ancient ppl did it in 40 yrs!
nx up we've angkor thom, consisting of prasat bayon, terrance of e elephants, royal palace, victory gate, etc.
angkor thom is e last capital city of e khmer empire & prasat bayon is its state temple located right in e centre of e city, well-known for its numerous faces made of stones. the king lived in e royal palace & terrance of e elephants is a viewing platform for e king.
it's really amazing how e stones can be built to create e numerous faces. 
e side gate to royal palace~~
victory gate~~
Ta Prohm, wif its trees growing all over e ruins is famous for its appearance in tomb raider.
prasat kravan~~ a more modern temple, made of bricks instead of stones.
a lot of e temples r undergoing restoration works right now, due to e yrs of wear & tear, as well as the influx of tourists. tourists r actually a threat to e structures as we keep walking/climbling ard, touching here & there, so e buildings might not be able to withstand e huge pressure & e cravings might fade away after prolong touching. of course e cam gov doesnt hav so much resources for all e restorations, so e projects r all funded by other countries. at e entrance of each site there'll been a signboard stating this temple is restored by funds from blah blah blah (country name), period of how long, etc etc.
it's really amazing how e stones can be built to create e numerous faces. 
e side gate to royal palace~~
victory gate~~
Ta Prohm, wif its trees growing all over e ruins is famous for its appearance in tomb raider.
this place was originally alr covered by trees, until it was discovered n became a tourist attraction. hence some parts of e structures had collapsed under e heavy weight of e trees.
prasat kravan~~ a more modern temple, made of bricks instead of stones.
a lot of e temples r undergoing restoration works right now, due to e yrs of wear & tear, as well as the influx of tourists. tourists r actually a threat to e structures as we keep walking/climbling ard, touching here & there, so e buildings might not be able to withstand e huge pressure & e cravings might fade away after prolong touching. of course e cam gov doesnt hav so much resources for all e restorations, so e projects r all funded by other countries. at e entrance of each site there'll been a signboard stating this temple is restored by funds from blah blah blah (country name), period of how long, etc etc.
Monday, October 11, 2010
6:48 PM
2010 vietnam cambodia trip - Day 12, Siem Reap
siem reap is a very small town made famous by e presence of angkor wat & e surrounding angkor archaeological park.
engaged a local guide for 2 days @ US$50 per day (inclusive of sunrise & sunset @ angkor park). our guide, ratanak is a qualified professional guide wif a degree in english literature & business administration. we get along quite well as he's ard our age & is really accomodating & knowledgable in history & all other arena. we'll highly recommend him to anyone gg to siem reap.
anyway, we started our tour @ 830am wif kompong phluk as our first destination. it is a floating village in tonle sap, e largest freshwater lake in south east asia. if i nv rem wrongly, e size of e fully flooded lake is bigger than spore! kompong phluk is a lot less touristy than chong kneas (another floating village on tonle sap & a major tourist attraction) as it's much further. but dat's exactly y we chose it as u get to appreciate more sights here without e crowd. u can oso see e flooded forest here, which is not available in chong kneas.
our boat ride was abt 2 hrs, wif e boat sailing down e meadering streams b4 reaching e floating village & tonle sap~~
flooded forest wif a floating hse~~ e hse has bamboo underneath it & will float to wherever & river current takes it. to settle down @ a spot, they'll jus secure e hse wif ropes ard e trees.
view of tonle sap, which has no borders~~ u'll tink dat this is e sea~~
we went on shore to visit e little village~~ ppl here leads a simple life, wif fishing as e main means of living~~
lunch @ a local khmer restaurant~~ e most famous food here is their amok fish, which is fish cooked wif coconut & khmer spices served in a coconut shell.
visited e war museum~~
landmines~~ a killer in cambodia 
gg up to phnom bakheng for sunset~~ located inside e angkor park, u can actually buy e 1 day pass to angkor at 4pm e previous day for sunset then continue using it for e nx day. a 1 day pass cost US$20. they'll take ur photo on e spot & print it onto ur tix! fyi: cambodians go inside angkor for free!
u'll need to climb e super steep & narrow staircase to reach e top of bakheng hill~~
phnom bakheng is a hindu temple dedicated to shiva built 2 centuries b4 angkor wat.
dinner @ a local coffee shop wif our guide~~
siem reap is a very small town made famous by e presence of angkor wat & e surrounding angkor archaeological park.
engaged a local guide for 2 days @ US$50 per day (inclusive of sunrise & sunset @ angkor park). our guide, ratanak is a qualified professional guide wif a degree in english literature & business administration. we get along quite well as he's ard our age & is really accomodating & knowledgable in history & all other arena. we'll highly recommend him to anyone gg to siem reap.
anyway, we started our tour @ 830am wif kompong phluk as our first destination. it is a floating village in tonle sap, e largest freshwater lake in south east asia. if i nv rem wrongly, e size of e fully flooded lake is bigger than spore! kompong phluk is a lot less touristy than chong kneas (another floating village on tonle sap & a major tourist attraction) as it's much further. but dat's exactly y we chose it as u get to appreciate more sights here without e crowd. u can oso see e flooded forest here, which is not available in chong kneas.
our boat ride was abt 2 hrs, wif e boat sailing down e meadering streams b4 reaching e floating village & tonle sap~~
flooded forest wif a floating hse~~ e hse has bamboo underneath it & will float to wherever & river current takes it. to settle down @ a spot, they'll jus secure e hse wif ropes ard e trees.
view of tonle sap, which has no borders~~ u'll tink dat this is e sea~~
we went on shore to visit e little village~~ ppl here leads a simple life, wif fishing as e main means of living~~
lunch @ a local khmer restaurant~~ e most famous food here is their amok fish, which is fish cooked wif coconut & khmer spices served in a coconut shell.
visited e war museum~~
landmines~~ a killer in cambodia 
gg up to phnom bakheng for sunset~~ located inside e angkor park, u can actually buy e 1 day pass to angkor at 4pm e previous day for sunset then continue using it for e nx day. a 1 day pass cost US$20. they'll take ur photo on e spot & print it onto ur tix! fyi: cambodians go inside angkor for free!
u'll need to climb e super steep & narrow staircase to reach e top of bakheng hill~~
phnom bakheng is a hindu temple dedicated to shiva built 2 centuries b4 angkor wat.
dinner @ a local coffee shop wif our guide~~