The BBQ countdown party at Kent's house yesterday saw lots of drunkards, all high on vodka.
When I told dad I'm going to a friend's countdown party, he put out a stern face and said, "Don't. Drink. Any. Liquor."
I wiki-ed the definition of 'liquor', it means any alcohol beverage produce through distillation. So... I guess I can drink beer and wine. Bwaha.
Anyway, I'm a good girl =)
We started our second day in Siem Reap by waiting for the sunrise at Angkor Wat. Again, words cannot fully describe the magic of the moment.
When the sky gradually turned amber behind the towers of Angkor Wat, it was as if we were transported back to the days of its glory.
Behold. Le soleil. Heaven's eye. The huge fireball.
Bak Sey Jam Krong, another old temple. But we never went in, because the main focus was...
Angkor Thom =D
That's the face of Jayavarman VII on the South Gate.
Ok, before you ask, I shall explain the difference between Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom. They're not the same thing, obviously. The word 'wat' means temple, as we know from our secondary history textbooks. The word 'thom' means city.
So, Angkor Wat can be translated as the temple of Angkor, whereby Angkor Thom is the city of Angkor. They are separate buildings. In fact, Angkor Thom is not even a building, it's a city. Angkor Wat is not in Angkor Thom.
Angkor Thom was the initial capital of the kingdom. Until some war broke out in the 14th century, the kingdom shifted it's capital to Phnom Penh.
Let me bring you to the asura side of the handrail. They're situated on the left side.
The deva side of the handrail, on the right side.
My favourite shot. That's one way to live forever. The king forever watching over the capital city he built like a guardian.
Bayon temple. The temple is full of faces. The towers have either 3 or 4 faces looking at each direction.
I won't elaborate much on Bayon. Bayon is special because of the distinct style (faces everywhere) and also because of the context of its carvings.
Instead of indulging the visitors' eyes with more of Mahabrata and Ramayana stories, the carvings tell more of the daily lives of ancient Angkor. Such as cooking, monkeys climbing trees to get coconuts, fishing, etc. Also, there is a large carving describing the war between the Angkor empire and the Champa empire (sejarah stuff, I know).
More pictures in my Facebook albums.
Baphuon temple. Closed for reconstruction =(
Damien beside an elephant at the Elephant Terrace. Noob face.
Walking to Ta Prohm. You should know this temple...
Maybe you've seen this in 'Tomb Raider', or 'Indiana Jones: The Temple of Doom'.
When Angkor Thom was abandoned, the temple fell into the care of nature. Nature has a mind of its own as well as it's own idea of preservation. The trees held the temple ruins together, so it's like a sort of external foundation.
Even though it's dubbed as the most popular tourist attraction, the place is still very quiet. It's as if the walls listen to your utterance, and your voice drowned in the green forest. There is an eerie kind of ambience that makes the temple a favourite among movie directors.
You can imagine how the Frenchman who discovered this temple felt (his name is Henri something, can't remember). The curiosity killing him and pushing him to venture through the dark hallways of the abandoned temple; yet the stone faces instilling a haunted vibe pushing him away. His mind fraught with worries of booby traps, found in adventure novellas of his time.
Having started the day by watching the sunrise over a magnificent temple, the best way to end it is to watch the sunset on Bakheng hill temple.
As the sun sank beyond the horizon, we made our way down the temple, step by step, very slowly (the slope of stairs to the top of the temple was 80 degrees). Whilst hastening our way down the hill before the sky turned completely dark, I watched the golden hue of the temple fade and thought of the wonders and destruction we humans are capable of.
Sigh. Why waste energy on nuclear bombs when we could build so many wonders?
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