Friday, March 03, 2006
Cambodia!
Finally it was time to leave Thailand for a while, though I do love the place. First stop, Cambodia. After a gruelling bus journey we stopped in Siem Reap. In english this means "Thailand Defeated", so immediately I liked this country. As the guide book said, "imagine England having a city called Germany Defeated". Being in Siem Reap means one thing: angora wad. There are also a large number of smaller temples in the area, but the word small is relative! Here's some of the pictures we took:
This is a sort of main gate intop the temple region. Its a very imposing and impressive sight when you get right under it. That takes a little time though, as you have to fight through an army of Japanese tourists first!
Amanda has found her Stampy! She also loves the Elephant song. It always reminds her of elephants...
One of the temples we visited, who's name escapes me at the moment, had many many many pillars in it. On all 4 of the sides, were carved this face. It was strange looking around, because you would notice one, then another then suddenly realise you were being looked at all over the place by the half smiling head of a lng dead king. Emma is showing these monuments the respect they deserve...
This is Angkor wad! A truly huge building, from the 12th century, and it really has to be seen to be believed. The stone carvings, the bas reliefs, showing you guys all the pictures will have to wait until we get back, there's too much to see! Please note the return of the army of Japanese tourists! They managed to get everywhere about 5 minutes before us.
Getting to the top of the structure is hazardous, as can be seen here. Emma and Amanda crawl up nearly vertical stairs to get to the highest point. The steps are tiny, and getting down is even worse. Its like taking a step into empty space! A and E made it to the top ok, despite me chucking pebble at their head.
Two views down from the top. Its a shame that pictures don't really give a sense of what the place is like. The beauty is in the detail of the stone work. The other side of that is the huge size of the complex, which you kinda can get here.
The other temples were equally impressive, but in different ways. When they were abandoned, the jungles over grew the temples. During the cleaning out process, some of this was left alone for visitors to see. That tree is huge by the way, and its being kept up by a crumbling temple roof...
Some people never respect the rule...
After Siem Reap, we moved on to Pnom Phen, the Cambodian capital. There I was sick for a day or two (stupid homemade yoghurt!), but did manage to see a place called S-21. It was a former Khmer Rouge prison, that had been a primary school before. I'm not going to go into detail about it, just to say it meant coming face to face with the worst side of humanity. Those who want to find out more can read up on it here.
Next stop Vietnam!!!
This is a sort of main gate intop the temple region. Its a very imposing and impressive sight when you get right under it. That takes a little time though, as you have to fight through an army of Japanese tourists first!
Amanda has found her Stampy! She also loves the Elephant song. It always reminds her of elephants...
One of the temples we visited, who's name escapes me at the moment, had many many many pillars in it. On all 4 of the sides, were carved this face. It was strange looking around, because you would notice one, then another then suddenly realise you were being looked at all over the place by the half smiling head of a lng dead king. Emma is showing these monuments the respect they deserve...
This is Angkor wad! A truly huge building, from the 12th century, and it really has to be seen to be believed. The stone carvings, the bas reliefs, showing you guys all the pictures will have to wait until we get back, there's too much to see! Please note the return of the army of Japanese tourists! They managed to get everywhere about 5 minutes before us.
Getting to the top of the structure is hazardous, as can be seen here. Emma and Amanda crawl up nearly vertical stairs to get to the highest point. The steps are tiny, and getting down is even worse. Its like taking a step into empty space! A and E made it to the top ok, despite me chucking pebble at their head.
Two views down from the top. Its a shame that pictures don't really give a sense of what the place is like. The beauty is in the detail of the stone work. The other side of that is the huge size of the complex, which you kinda can get here.
The other temples were equally impressive, but in different ways. When they were abandoned, the jungles over grew the temples. During the cleaning out process, some of this was left alone for visitors to see. That tree is huge by the way, and its being kept up by a crumbling temple roof...
Some people never respect the rule...After Siem Reap, we moved on to Pnom Phen, the Cambodian capital. There I was sick for a day or two (stupid homemade yoghurt!), but did manage to see a place called S-21. It was a former Khmer Rouge prison, that had been a primary school before. I'm not going to go into detail about it, just to say it meant coming face to face with the worst side of humanity. Those who want to find out more can read up on it here.
Next stop Vietnam!!!
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