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.