Angkor Memories (Two)

In Angkor Wat, you will really be awed by magnificent architecture and advanced engineering work used thousands years ago.

Apsara Dancer

Too many of them

View from inside

When you are inside this complex, you'll get to feel wind and relieved from tiredness of going up. The white GI sheets are restoration work funded by other countries.

Ramayana and Indarapatra

You can read Ramayana and Indarapatra from the whole stretch of wall. Just look at the stone sculpture on the wall but don't ever touch them. 

Inside base

This is what's inside the huge complex; this is the highest tower. In order to enter here, you have to exert real effort. 

Just my comment, some tourists do not read the conditions of entrance here written in their IDs. Once ID cards are given, the staff should at the same time instruct the tourists to read the conditions written. One very important condition is not being noisy. Because there is still Buddha inside where Buddhists can pay homage to and the place is considered holy; tourists should minimize their noise. The word "wat" means temple. So, do not wear shorts or sleeveless or see-through clothes. Be decent enough.

Angkor Memories (One)

It has been a while since I missed to post new things. In this series, I will be presenting some memories of my recent sojourn in Cambodia, a place where every step is memorable.

"The journey to a thousand miles begins with a single step." 

My feet in Angkor Wat reminds me of the famous Lao Tzu's quote: "The journey to a thousand miles begins with a single step." This base is made of stone from nearby mountains thousand years ago. 

Walk as far as you can while you can.

While others are not given the chance to walk because of physical reasons, be thankful when you are in Angkor because not everyone can enter the entire complex. Literally, you will have to perspire from walking because the entire complex is thousands square meters in area. Aside from that, entering the structure entails literal and careful steps to the staircases.

There is beauty in every tourist.

The lady in colorful dress makes the olden structure alive as the rest of the other tourists do. Take a look at the stairs; those are made of wood placed on top of the real staircase. This boardwalk provides protection for the real stairs underneath. The real stairs are half the length of my feet in diameter making it difficult to a modern man's feet to step. Thus, the boardwalk makes it easier for the tourist to go up and descend from the top.

Well, for now, Cambodia is a country with vast potentials for development considering that it only has about 15 million people. Compared to the Philippines, we already have more than 101 million people. In Cambodia, the government have to rethink its national policies in ensuring the sustainable use of natural resources, capitalizing on tourism as its competitive advantage and strengthening infrastructure that links the country from the main roads to the drainage systems.

Currency have to be studied well also because there are two confusing currencies - dollar and riel. It was so surprising that in Siem Reap where the border to Thailand is near, baht and even peso are accepted. Until then, Siem Reap....