Houses on stilts
Ta Prohm
Angkor Wat
The Royal Palace, Phnom Penh
Silver Pagoda,
Cambodian tuk-tukSEE VIDEOS AT BOTTOM OF POSTING
Now i have a new country to add to my favourites list. So peaceful and spacious after the claustrophobia of Saigon.
the country is dominated by the world's fifth largest river, the Mekong. Most houses outside of the big towns are built on stilts because of the massive and long lasting annual floods.
Phnom Penh has been the capital since the 15th century, when Angkor Wat was abandoned to the jungle. the Khymer people, who built the temples in the jungle, were the dominant power in SE Asia from the 9th to the 14th century. The country was sucked into the Vietnam War, after their war against the French and subsequently lost a quarter of its population under the Khymer Rouge led by Pol Pot ending in the terrible extermination that took place at "the Killing Fields", just 14km outside the city.
Now the city is relatively sleepy, spacious and captivates me when entering in an open-sided
tuk-tuk, passing temples, palaces and an avenue of franjipani in blossom. The country has largely been off the tourist map.
The Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda is the official residence of King Norodom Sihanouk. The latter is so called because of the 5,000 silver tiles that cover its floor; "no photos allowed", which was an open invitation to me. It also houses a life-sized Buddha in solid gold and decorated with over 9,000 diamonds, the largest of which is 25 carats.
After Phnon Penh the small town of Siem Reap, which is leafy and semi-slumbering, this is being changed by its proximity to Angkor Wat and the other jungle temples in the area. (Siem Reap means "Siam Defeated', not a good name to use close to the border with Thailand).
These temples are the pride and joy of the Cambodian people.
Angkor Wat is the world's largest religious building and a wonder of the world. It is over 150 feet high, with a vast moat surrounding it.
Angkor Thom, its former capital, has at its centre "the Bayon", which has over 200 huge faces carved on its many towers, each with an icy smile, no matter where you look one seems to be watching you, quite disconcerting. Ta Prohm, which has been left to the jungle, was used for the film "Tomb Raiders".
the country is dominated by the world's fifth largest river, the Mekong. Most houses outside of the big towns are built on stilts because of the massive and long lasting annual floods.
Phnom Penh has been the capital since the 15th century, when Angkor Wat was abandoned to the jungle. the Khymer people, who built the temples in the jungle, were the dominant power in SE Asia from the 9th to the 14th century. The country was sucked into the Vietnam War, after their war against the French and subsequently lost a quarter of its population under the Khymer Rouge led by Pol Pot ending in the terrible extermination that took place at "the Killing Fields", just 14km outside the city.
Now the city is relatively sleepy, spacious and captivates me when entering in an open-sided
tuk-tuk, passing temples, palaces and an avenue of franjipani in blossom. The country has largely been off the tourist map.
The Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda is the official residence of King Norodom Sihanouk. The latter is so called because of the 5,000 silver tiles that cover its floor; "no photos allowed", which was an open invitation to me. It also houses a life-sized Buddha in solid gold and decorated with over 9,000 diamonds, the largest of which is 25 carats.
After Phnon Penh the small town of Siem Reap, which is leafy and semi-slumbering, this is being changed by its proximity to Angkor Wat and the other jungle temples in the area. (Siem Reap means "Siam Defeated', not a good name to use close to the border with Thailand).
These temples are the pride and joy of the Cambodian people.
Angkor Wat is the world's largest religious building and a wonder of the world. It is over 150 feet high, with a vast moat surrounding it.
Angkor Thom, its former capital, has at its centre "the Bayon", which has over 200 huge faces carved on its many towers, each with an icy smile, no matter where you look one seems to be watching you, quite disconcerting. Ta Prohm, which has been left to the jungle, was used for the film "Tomb Raiders".
1 comment:
Siem Riep. Angkor Wat. Phnon Penh. Wished i had had more time there. Didnt really like Saigon. Videos are good Dad. They give a good impression of what some of the places are like.
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