Tomb Raider : The Sequel
Day 2 (8th March 2008)
At an ungodly hour of 4.30am, we woke up for our sunrise date with Angkor Wat. Grabe, it was so difficult to get up and wash my face!
A Day Spent in the Past
This is it.
I am going to walk on the same path as the ancient Khmers who have lived centuries ago.
I have always been fascinated in Asian history. During our Kas II class, my mind would be flying over to the ancient Asian civilizations. All the glories of the Mekong kingdoms, the Siamese kings fighting with the Laotian or the Khmer princes, the intrigues, the banishings…… it’s all so romantic, so mystical.
I am sitting here with Ganda in the steps of Angkor Wat waiting for the sunrise. We are munching out Chips Ahoy and take note, Evian water please! Hehehe……. I have a terrible migraine, kahapon pa to eh wala pa mandin akong Panadol. Shotay talaga ako nito.
The place is really amazing! It’s so unbelievably beautiful!! The skies are dark and cloudy, creating an otherworldly panorama. It is surreal to be walking and going around the different labyrinths of the temple. It is as if I am encroaching in the past. The quiet stillness of the temple is broken only by the whisperings of the tourists who are going in and out, I felt as if anytime now the ladies of the court or the various warriors or artisans will all come alive.
The crumbling walls hypnotize you into reliving the past, of imagining how life must have been for the ancient Khmers who have lived here. Oh, what a glorious “ancient” past the Cambodians have!
The sunrise photo ops was scratched, we had a small drizzle and the sun did not come out at all (I think pati ang aming sunset nito ma-scratch din!).
The number of tourists coming here is crazy. Its early in the morning pero I think meron na sigurong two hundred fifty tourists waiting for the sunrise, most likely in a day there would be at least 1,000 tourists coming in. I don’t know how long these temples can last with the onslaught of tourists.
On the way to the Central Angkor Thom temples, we passed by some Buddha structures dotting the bridge, ay talagang nagpa-picture pa rin!
It was still raining hard pero we continued on, we stopped at Bayon temple. Sabi agad ni Ganda, naku parang dito naglukso lukso si Angelina Jolie (I really think I have to watch the Tomb Raider movie again just for reference to this blog! Hehehe). It is said na if you have a limited time to go around the Angkor temples, the 3 major temples that are “must-sees” are Angkor Wat, Bayon and Ta Phrom.
The temple dates back to the 12th century during the reign of King Jayavarman VII, predominant around the temple are the different faces of Avalokiteshvara (still subject for debate kung kaninong mukha talaga ang nandun!) on top of the conical towers.
Just outside the old Royal Palace grounds are the Terrace of the Elephants & Terrace of the Leper King, ang ganda ng mga designs on the walls kasi they are still intact and you can really see the figure of the elephants, the warriors riding them, the dancers, etc.
The driver pointed us to a cluster of ruins on the other side of the Terraces, siempre photo op na sya kasi kami lang ang tao na pumunta doon. The Prasat Suor Prasat is a cluster of identical sandstone towers which served as parang temporary jails to settle disputes between warring parties. Feeling ko naman parang it was the Irish highlands or something.
From the Central Angkor Thom complex, we made a quick stop at Thommanom. It is a small temple built during the late 11th century which has been preserved well. Across the lane is another temple built earlier, the Chau Say Tevoda.
Further on the road is the Ta Keo temple, its parang a pyramid surrounded by a walled compound of sandstone towers. Sabi nga ni Ganda,” di kinaya ng powers ko” coz it’s a steep climb over medyo crumbling steps although there is nothing spectacular about the stone carvings or the lack of it (?).
Eto na ang pinakahihintay namin, the temple kung saan si Angelina Jolie nagshooting! The Ta Phrom is a temple which has been parang reclaimed back by Nature. Just look at the gigantic tree roots which have grown around the temple ruins. The temple has been around since 1186 AD and even until now parang it is still in the midst of a forest kasi we even have to walk a few meters inside a jungle just to get there. It was just partially cleared out. It was said that the Ta Phrom used to be a monastery, with thousands of resident monks and a vast wealth and was constructed by the King in dedication to his mother (grabe namang gift yan!).
One of the most beautiful temples we’ve been to is the Bantay Kdei, it is set far back from the main road and you have to go in an entrance gate and it is still a few meters inward but such an underrated temple – ang ganda nya! Very well-preserved sya, especially the stone carvings on the walls, but the over-all temple complex is in bad condition kasi there were no major reconstruction or preservation done on it previously (ngayon pa lang yata sila nagsisimula coz you can see some steel-like ropes around some of the towers) unlike the other “notable” temples. Since not a lot of tourists go there picture to the max kami….
Eto na yata ang one of the oldest temple ruin (next to the East Mebon) na napuntahan namin coz the Pre Rup was constructed as early as the 10th century during King Rajendravarman II. Amazing really when the whole idea of being there sinks in. Can you imagine an almost 1,100 years old temple still INTACT!!!!
As in, super OLD na sya. The East Mebon temple was built shortly after King Rajendravarman II has moved back the capital back to Angkor (after a throne usurper took it to another location for about 16 years – o di ba, interesting the way they move capitals, mga usurper to the thrones, etc!) and is said to be constructed around 947 AD.
I cannot encapsulate in words the way I felt walking around these temples, you want to be solemn and at the same time exclaim loudly about the magnificence of the carvings, the designs, the altars, the columns. I felt so lucky to be able to visit this place before it gets run down from too much tourists clambering up and down its fragile steps (duh, feeling naman masyado eh turista din naman ako! Hehehe).
What a day it has been!
Oh My God, What a small world!!!
We just got back to our guest house and Janeth was asking the receptionist for our room key when we heard someone calling out my name and then Janeth told me that someone is calling me (as in, siempre di ba this is Cambodia who on earth naman ang makakilala sa akin???) so I turned around and just plain, shouted and jumped and hugged --- Tin Tin, my former Sunland Hotels colleague.
*me and Tin
At an ungodly hour of 4.30am, we woke up for our sunrise date with Angkor Wat. Grabe, it was so difficult to get up and wash my face!
A Day Spent in the Past
This is it.
I am going to walk on the same path as the ancient Khmers who have lived centuries ago.
I have always been fascinated in Asian history. During our Kas II class, my mind would be flying over to the ancient Asian civilizations. All the glories of the Mekong kingdoms, the Siamese kings fighting with the Laotian or the Khmer princes, the intrigues, the banishings…… it’s all so romantic, so mystical.
I am sitting here with Ganda in the steps of Angkor Wat waiting for the sunrise. We are munching out Chips Ahoy and take note, Evian water please! Hehehe……. I have a terrible migraine, kahapon pa to eh wala pa mandin akong Panadol. Shotay talaga ako nito.
The place is really amazing! It’s so unbelievably beautiful!! The skies are dark and cloudy, creating an otherworldly panorama. It is surreal to be walking and going around the different labyrinths of the temple. It is as if I am encroaching in the past. The quiet stillness of the temple is broken only by the whisperings of the tourists who are going in and out, I felt as if anytime now the ladies of the court or the various warriors or artisans will all come alive.
The crumbling walls hypnotize you into reliving the past, of imagining how life must have been for the ancient Khmers who have lived here. Oh, what a glorious “ancient” past the Cambodians have!
The sunrise photo ops was scratched, we had a small drizzle and the sun did not come out at all (I think pati ang aming sunset nito ma-scratch din!).
The number of tourists coming here is crazy. Its early in the morning pero I think meron na sigurong two hundred fifty tourists waiting for the sunrise, most likely in a day there would be at least 1,000 tourists coming in. I don’t know how long these temples can last with the onslaught of tourists.
On the way to the Central Angkor Thom temples, we passed by some Buddha structures dotting the bridge, ay talagang nagpa-picture pa rin!
It was still raining hard pero we continued on, we stopped at Bayon temple. Sabi agad ni Ganda, naku parang dito naglukso lukso si Angelina Jolie (I really think I have to watch the Tomb Raider movie again just for reference to this blog! Hehehe). It is said na if you have a limited time to go around the Angkor temples, the 3 major temples that are “must-sees” are Angkor Wat, Bayon and Ta Phrom.
The temple dates back to the 12th century during the reign of King Jayavarman VII, predominant around the temple are the different faces of Avalokiteshvara (still subject for debate kung kaninong mukha talaga ang nandun!) on top of the conical towers.
Just outside the old Royal Palace grounds are the Terrace of the Elephants & Terrace of the Leper King, ang ganda ng mga designs on the walls kasi they are still intact and you can really see the figure of the elephants, the warriors riding them, the dancers, etc.
The driver pointed us to a cluster of ruins on the other side of the Terraces, siempre photo op na sya kasi kami lang ang tao na pumunta doon. The Prasat Suor Prasat is a cluster of identical sandstone towers which served as parang temporary jails to settle disputes between warring parties. Feeling ko naman parang it was the Irish highlands or something.
From the Central Angkor Thom complex, we made a quick stop at Thommanom. It is a small temple built during the late 11th century which has been preserved well. Across the lane is another temple built earlier, the Chau Say Tevoda.
Further on the road is the Ta Keo temple, its parang a pyramid surrounded by a walled compound of sandstone towers. Sabi nga ni Ganda,” di kinaya ng powers ko” coz it’s a steep climb over medyo crumbling steps although there is nothing spectacular about the stone carvings or the lack of it (?).
Eto na ang pinakahihintay namin, the temple kung saan si Angelina Jolie nagshooting! The Ta Phrom is a temple which has been parang reclaimed back by Nature. Just look at the gigantic tree roots which have grown around the temple ruins. The temple has been around since 1186 AD and even until now parang it is still in the midst of a forest kasi we even have to walk a few meters inside a jungle just to get there. It was just partially cleared out. It was said that the Ta Phrom used to be a monastery, with thousands of resident monks and a vast wealth and was constructed by the King in dedication to his mother (grabe namang gift yan!).
One of the most beautiful temples we’ve been to is the Bantay Kdei, it is set far back from the main road and you have to go in an entrance gate and it is still a few meters inward but such an underrated temple – ang ganda nya! Very well-preserved sya, especially the stone carvings on the walls, but the over-all temple complex is in bad condition kasi there were no major reconstruction or preservation done on it previously (ngayon pa lang yata sila nagsisimula coz you can see some steel-like ropes around some of the towers) unlike the other “notable” temples. Since not a lot of tourists go there picture to the max kami….
Eto na yata ang one of the oldest temple ruin (next to the East Mebon) na napuntahan namin coz the Pre Rup was constructed as early as the 10th century during King Rajendravarman II. Amazing really when the whole idea of being there sinks in. Can you imagine an almost 1,100 years old temple still INTACT!!!!
As in, super OLD na sya. The East Mebon temple was built shortly after King Rajendravarman II has moved back the capital back to Angkor (after a throne usurper took it to another location for about 16 years – o di ba, interesting the way they move capitals, mga usurper to the thrones, etc!) and is said to be constructed around 947 AD.
I cannot encapsulate in words the way I felt walking around these temples, you want to be solemn and at the same time exclaim loudly about the magnificence of the carvings, the designs, the altars, the columns. I felt so lucky to be able to visit this place before it gets run down from too much tourists clambering up and down its fragile steps (duh, feeling naman masyado eh turista din naman ako! Hehehe).
What a day it has been!
Oh My God, What a small world!!!
We just got back to our guest house and Janeth was asking the receptionist for our room key when we heard someone calling out my name and then Janeth told me that someone is calling me (as in, siempre di ba this is Cambodia who on earth naman ang makakilala sa akin???) so I turned around and just plain, shouted and jumped and hugged --- Tin Tin, my former Sunland Hotels colleague.
*me and Tin
Tin Tin and I used to work at Planning/Project Section when we were doing the redevelopment project of Bodu Hithi. We used to have a morning coffee ritual every 10 o’clock as in walang deviation talaga unless the other one is absent. Kiver yan ha kahit nandyan ang mga big bosses, no one comes between us and our coffee break!! I miss those days. Even though we work hard (I normally finish until 10-11pm every single day!!!) but I don’t feel tired coz I am working with similarly hardworking people like Tin and Udey.
Anyways, she immediately called up her husband Maung (he used to work also as Group Internal Auditor with us) and we agreed to meet for dinner at a popular Khmer restaurant. My God, the food we consumed! Nakakaloka talaga kasi ang sarap ng pagkain, especially their grilled pork/beef specialty (as in promise ko pa magdadala ako nun!). One thing that caught my attention when we went inside the restaurant --- the carpark is FULL OF SUVs. As in hindi basta bastang cars, mga hummers pa yung iba and in just 1 carpark sya ha!!!
Nasa Cambodia ba ako or what????
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