What Wat?

Lama gak tak update kat sini. Heavy office workload is to be blamed. By the time I reach home, dah sibuk nak menyibuk dengan homework anak-anak dan macam-macam lagilah dll nyer. Ye lah.. ye lah... kena lah blame it on something kan?

Anyway, supaya Mak Lijah tak terlupa about my trip in December 2007, I need to upload the photos and story here.



When I was told that I had to go to Cambodia for this meeting, I was like WHAT? But then, ok, it's in Seam Reap. And yet, this question came about --> Why have it in Seam Reap and not the capital itself? I have always think that the capital of any developing country would be more advanced with all the modern facilities and tall buildings (with decent shopping complex) and a lot cleaner than other cities/town in the country.





I have never been there and never in my dream that I would actually get the chance to visit the famous Angkor Wat. And Angkor Wat is in Seam Reap, not in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. It was an amazing experience dan patutlah ia cuba disenaraikan sebagai one of the THE SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD, malangnya ia tidak berlaku.

Sebelum pergi situ, we were made to wear this boring white-colored-T shirt sebab katanya senang nak identify group. Tak per lah, since the trip was sponsored (harga tiket di quote in USD) dan dapat free Tshirt lagi, belasah jer lah...

It was really hot and the sun was burning my skin. Nasib baik ingat pesanan kawan to put on the sunblock. Nevertheless Mak Lijah berpeluh bagai masuk marathon. We had to walk on oneven blocks on the causeway. It was a long walk, believe me.

Once we were inside the complex, it was really cooling. Maybe the stones that made up the building berusia terlampau lama, maka suhu agak dingin di dalamnya.

The interior was so incredible. Ukiran-ukiran halus atas batu-batu yang amat keras. Namun bila dapat melihat the Jungle Temple, I rest my case lah. Imagine how old the Wat is. Akar-akar kayu melingkari struktur bangunan. Patutlah Kak Jolie datang sini dulu.

For those yang ada hati nak tengok Angkor Wat, we do fly directly to Seam Reap but only on selected days. I suggest that you bring your own food walaupun ada sebuah restoran halal Melayu, D'Wau, dan beberapa lagi restoran yang halal, tapi travelling in the tuk-tuk to and fro would not be a good idea. Nevertheless, there are plenty of hotels there yang almost all (3-4 star rated) bernama ANGKOR.

http://www.angkorwat.org/

Angkor Wat has a long history. Daripada the Kingdom of Funan to the Spanish invasion dan from agama Hindu to Budha, it captured a lot of historical events yang sangat amazing. It is believed that it was built during AD616 - AD635. However, by the 18th century, Angkor Wat dah ditelan hutan rimba dan tidak lagi dapat ditembusi hinggalah Kak Jolie menemuinya semula. Are you kidding? It was Henri Mouhot, a French botanist who discovered the Angkor ruins. This led to an intensive research and restoration program throughout the later half of the 19th and 20th century. Some details of Angkor Wat:


The temples at Angkor are spread out over some 40 miles around the village of Siem Reap. They were built between the eighth and 13th centuries and range from single towers made of bricks to vast stone temple complexes. There are two main sites where the Khmer temples are located. The first is at Roluos which is about 10 miles south east of today's village of Siem Reap, where only a few of the earlier temples were built. This was the first Khmer capital in the Angkor area. In the late ninth century, Yasovarman I moved the capital to the immediate vicinity of Siem Reap. It is officially known as the City of Angkor. There are other temples located in the area, some up to 20 miles away from Siem Reap. Khmer temples can also be found in many other parts of Cambodia, as well as China, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam.

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