Friday, February 12, 2010

Siem Reap (Part 2)

Desktop holiday for you: Asian Edition - happy days travelling with friends in beautiful Siem Reap (Part 2)....

I know it's very delayed, but hope you don't mind.... Here's the continuation of the photos from my Siem Reap holiday in 2009. :)

Sunset on one of the temples - Phnom Bakheng

After a 20 minute walk uphill (uneven dirt track, sheltered by trees), we arrived at the temple base proper... Then, (as commonly found in Siem Reap), we had to tackle climbing up a few flights of really steep stairs:
Steep. Really steep.....

When we asked our guide why all the stairs were so narrow and steep, he explained that (you'll have to take his word for it): "It symbolises the ascension to holiness/ heaven, and of course, that is never an easy journey!"....

Haha... That's interesting! :)

Anyway, we got there pretty early, so we sat down and rested our weary feet while waiting for the sun to set:
Sun slowly going down.....

(And what weary, dusty feet they were too! Haha...)
Eek.....

Soon, the hordes arrived and settled down as well:
Hundreds of people atop the temple.....

One really brave guy climbed up one of the temple columns to try to get the best possible view.....
(Siao!)
(He was pestered to come back down by one of the temple attendants soon after):
Perched precariously.....

Oi. Please get your head out of the way! >_<
(Inconsiderate and very tall gwailo blocking a lot of people's view)
Halo effect?.....

Finally, what everyone was waiting for:
The sunset.....

We sat enjoying the beautiful changing colours of the sky until the sun disappeared over the horizon, and then walked briskly down the hill with flash lights in hand...
(It started getting dark very quickly and there is little to no lighting installed anywhere....)

Hmmmmmm... looking back, it was nice but I guess it's really just another of those tourist-y things...
(Oh well, am still glad I made the journey anyway)


Hugs,
J

THE REST OF THE SET - J'S SIEM REAP 2009 PHOTOS:
- Siem Reap 2009, Part 1
- Siem Reap 2009, Part 3
- Siem Reap 2009, Part 4
- OR go to J's Main Travel Page for more options. :)


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3 comments:

  1. Brilliant sunset! This is one of the places that i really want to visit, after Borobudur....happy cny, j! :)

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  2. one of the best holidays, eva! :D and one the of happiest happy hours too!!

    but you gotta admit, by the third day, we were all pretty much "templed-out"... no? XP

    ReplyDelete
  3. to Nic (KHKL):
    Thanks.. :)
    Hope you're having a great CNY too....

    to j:
    Haha... Yeah - templed out indeed.
    But still, a great great holiday! :) Wouldn't mind going back actually...

    ReplyDelete

Appreciate your thoughts, opinions and feedback. :)