Although "Angkor Wat" is the most famous monument in the country; my favourite has to be the Bayon Temple built in the 8th century by King Jayavarman VII. Its decorated with 216 massive faces of an ancient deity; made to resemble the face of the King himself. What an ego-trip he would've been on! But the result is absolutely breath-taking. There is such enigma in the upward pointing self-absorbed smiles on these faces :)
Of course there is the 'Ta Prohm' Temple; made famous by Lara Croft's 'Tomb Raider'. The once-beautiful temples now in the clutches of giant tree roots; can get seriously spooky :) But its difficult to miss the fierce beauty of nature & its stampede here. It is fit to be the backdrop of a Hollywood movie!
And then there were the people of Cambodia; who make simplicity look so endearing! Especially the small kids who study by day & run around the western tourists by noon trying to make money by selling bangles & postcards...they really are angels!
15 comments:
Last week I watched on BBC how they controlled water in Angkor. Fascinating indeed. That's surely one of the places I'd love to visit sometime.
Those are some wonderful pictures, Radha! How lovely that you got to visit Cambodia...I really would love to go there myself sometime. Funnily enough our newspapers covered Cambodia in the travel section the other day, calling it a land like no other and that Angor Wat is like a child's play world for grown ups with its surreal jungle setting. They also spoke of the temples you mentioned the giant roots of trees that appear to be swallowing them in slow motion.
But a week or so after this touristy article appeared in the newspapers we had one on child prostitution in Cambodia and how grave the situation is. Made me sad.
Very interesting indeed. Would love to travel to Cambodia
wow radha. I really envy you, I have always longed to visit cambodia. Thats like the place I really really want to see. Loved the photo with the giant roots, I'm asking for more posts on this subject. please
My my!! You travel a lot don't you!! And to the most exotic places one can dream of. Good going..post some more snaps of this place, will be fun to see what the country has to offer.
I demand more pics!
Wow..that's cool...really you are traveling places..Cambodia is on my list now for sure.
Milan,
Hi, welcome to this blog! And yes, Angkor has beautiful sites that you must visit!!
Lotus,
Ankor Wat is brilliant....the detailing, the delicateness & the strong spiritual footing of its carvings...they are all brilliant. And yes, the exploitation of children is very disturbing; thats a problem through out Asia I guess!
666,
Long time no see!! Where have you been?
Suramya, Kanishka,
This is one of the advantages of living in Singapore; there are so many value-for-money weekend destinations around here (The air fare to Cambodia was $120 & the hotel was $20 a night!!)
I'm not sure why Cambodia hasnt become a more popular destination for Indian tourists; its really BIG in this part of the world.
Clickable,
I've sent them to you already!!!
Yogsma,
Well, its beautiful & a must-see place!! :)
Great Pictures, Radha! I would love to visit Cambodia sometime..
Fascinating indeed!!! look at that tree's roots...gosh!!! and the kids are really awww!!!! :)
and :D @ "pointing self-absorbed smiles "......the first one looked like he was trying so hard to pucker his lips into a pout!!! :)
And may we have a few more pics ,plZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Wow tht pic with the roots looks awesome.
It takes a bit of patience to tour this kinds no? I somehow back out just at the thought of it.
Happy Reader,
Thanks :) It was a lovely holiday!
Moi,
Will post a few more pics soon!! I was really thinking of you so often while I was in the ancient ruins...I kept thinking of all the great photos you would've clicked if you were there!! The place is stunningly photogenic!!
J,
Its spooky, isnt it? I loved the holiday; it required stamina more than patience!
Awesome!
Keshi.
Hi Radha, its been long since I visited ur blog. Hope you are doing well. I am yet in the process of moving. thanks for dropping by!
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