Miriel's posts with tag: ankor
|  | Went on a chopper and balloon ride to see Ankor from a different perspective |
| | Now this is really, really delayed.
The first half of the pictures are from Ankor Thom (Tom), which by far is the biggest complex among the Ankor Temples. The most "enigmatic" of this complex would be the faces, literally by the way, of Bayon. There are about 200 faces and at any part of the temple, you're bound to find at least one face "watching" you. While a bit eerie at first, the serene expression of the faces (of Lokesvara, the Buddist god "who looks down") will soon stifle that creepy feeling. Though still, personally, the reasons for building that seem more on the threatening side, or condescending at the very least.
Another striking feature of Ankor Thom is the Elephant Terrace, which is the grand entrance to the city. The sheer length is amazing and add the intricate carvings, it's mind-blowing. As I was walking on the terrace (at high noon, mind you), I could visualize the king and his court watching elephant fights or a victory parade entering the city gates (the visions were probably due to the intense heat).
The second half of this series were taken while we were waiting for the sunset. With all the clouds, we prepared ourselves to be disappointed, but our patience was rewarded by a beautiful red fire ball, setting down amidst of ancient wonder. Breathtaking, indeed. |
| | Second installment of the Ankor Temple Series. A bit delayed, to say the least. Enjoy the photos! |
| | It seems that I went on a bit of a photo binge while in Ankor. It was hard to keep myself from taking photos since I was almost constantly amazed at how such an ancient civilization was able to build such grand and intricate buildings. Most of what are left seem to be just skeletons of these amazing temples. Yet just with these, we can imagine how glorious this era was in Asian history.
The photos here are from a several different temples. The most prominent of which would be Ta Phrom, the forest temple, which can be easily market with the huge trees growing on its walls. Only a few photos of Ankor Wat are in this series (the first few pictures). I'll be posting more and updating this site once I'm able to note the exact temples. |
| | To keep with my latest tradition, I'll post my food photos from my trip to Siem Reap in Cambodia. I had the best banana blossom salad there --with some sort of vinigrette and basil. It was perfect salad with the intense heat since it was both light and refreshing. The basil was what made it perfect though. Another enjoyable summer treat was the gelato from Blue Pumpkin.
As for Khmer (Cambodian) food, it seems that the national dish was amok --curry with coconut milk instead of yoghurt. You can choose what goes in it. I was able to try the fish and chicken --both very tasty and spicy. Yum! The other Khmer food we tried were mostly fried, reminded me of Pinoy food while the rest had Vietnamese traces.
We also had dinner at Sofitel and FCC from some international cuisine. Seems that even if you're exploring the temples of Ankor, just round the corner is a "continental" restaurant. |
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