The Amazing Angkor Wat temple complex; Cambodia- Part II

In continuation to my earlier post on The Amazing Angkor Wat temple complex; Cambodia, Part I, I am sharing some more pictures of this truly incredible temple complex. The pictures below  will give you an idea of how massive these temples are. 

One of a kind and mesemerizing!



There are quite a few panels where you can still see the original colour...so beautiful!

You will find beautifully sculpted Apsaras in almost all the temples, each one unique. I was so impressed with the detailed and unique hairdos:)

 

The Amazing Angkor Wat temple complex; Cambodia, Part I

Angkor Wat temple complex

Continued from my previous post on Angkor Wat, I am sharing these mesmerizing pictures of the Angkor wat temple complex. I have tried compile together some of the representative shots of the temple complex, but it does not do justice to this historic and out of the world, and amazing temple complex.

;

The pictures below are a mere representation of the exquisite detailed work inside the temple complex walls. I was awestruck with the detailed carvings on the walls....even today it is in such a good condition...wonder how it would have looked during its prime!

The murals below are found on the walls inside the temple complex, and they mostly depict scenes from the two great Hindu epics, The Ramayana and The Mahabharata. I will post the last set of pictures from this complex in my next post. Stay tuned:)

Angkor Wat, Cambodia; Ancient, beautiful and one of the largest temple complexes in the world!

Sunrise at AngorWat

With the year coming to a close, and with next to no travels except in the beginning of the year, I look back fondly at 2019, which happened to be the year when I realised my dream of finally travelling to Cambodia and see the beautiful, and mesmerising ancient Angkor temples.  

I was awestruck with the architecture of the massive temples of Angkor which were built between the 9th to the 13th century. There were thousands of temples built during that time, and quite a few remain till this date but not all are in the best condition. 

I was dying to visit Angkor Wat, one of the largest and best temple complexes in Angkor. This temple complex is a Buddhist temple complex built in early 12th century; It was originally a Hindu temple complex dedicated to God Vishnu. Since the ruler during that time was Emperor Suryavarman II who was a Hindu. This UNESCO World Heritage site is one of the largest religious monuments in the world, and is spread across 400 acres.

Our travel to Cambodia started with us landing early in the morning at the capital city of Cambodia, Phnom Penh. We did a little bit of a city tour on the day we arrived; We planned to do more of Phnom Penh on our way back. We were much too excited to focus on anything else other than reaching Siem Reap, which is where we would spend the next three days visiting the ancient temples of Angkor. We took the Giant Ibis bus from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. It was a pleasant 6 hour journey, with a few halts in between (for lunch and tea). 

Upon reaching Siem Reap bus station, the first thing we did is we hired a Toto. This Toto was going to be our transport for the next three amazing days at Siem Reap. We were lucky to find a very helpful  and polite driver, who doubled in as our tour guide sometimes:)

In our three day stay, we did about 15 temples, and every single temple was worth visiting.For someone like me who loves ancient architecture, it was a indeed a dream come true.

Some things to consider if you plan to travel to Angkor. These temples require a lot of walking and climbing stairs, so carrying a sturdy pair of shoes is a must. We travelled in March, and it was very very warm making it difficult to cover too many temples in a day...best to travel around December-January. 

I am going to start by sharing pictures of Angkor Wat temple, although, we did not start our agenda with Angkor Wat complex first. On the day we reached Siem Reap, it was almost evening, and we rushed to catch the sunset in the Pre Rup temple complex. I will post pictures from Pre Rup as well...but not just yet, I will start with Angkor Wat first. 

The morning we did Ankor wat, we started very early since we wanted to catch the Angkor sunrise. It was still very dark when we reached, and we thought we were the first few to arrive...we were in for a surprise!!! The entire complex was already filled with tourists like us, eager to catch the sunrise!
We somehow managed to find a quiet place from where we could get a decent view of the sunrise. 

It was a beautiful experience indeed. I am sharing some pictures of the sunrise at Ankor Wat complex.I will post the temple complex pictures in detail in my next post. 

Stay safe and have a fabulous week ahead!

The rainbow effect:)

The evening sky has a rainbow effect, holding me captive and with feelings of hope for the future.

Here is a poem by William Wordsworth that I always remember, so simple and beautiful.

My heart leaps up when I behold 

     A rainbow in the sky:

So was it when my life began; 

So is it now I am a man; 

So be it when I shall grow old, 

   Or let me die!

The Child is father of the Man;

And I could wish my days to be 

Bound each to each by natural piety.

Festive times ...where are they?

Every year during this time I would generally be counting days for the festive time to begin... 

Especially Durga pujas, which is so much more than puja and rituals, it is celebration and fun time...With less than a month to go, if this were a regular year, Kolkata would have started transforming....creative puja pandals would be coming up, shopping places would be buzzing with people, and a general sense of happiness would prevail. 

Year 2020 changed it all! This year I feel none of the excitement :( 

Can't imagine I won't go out to see those creative and artistic pandals, each more unique than the other. The pujas will be held but on a low scale and in a controlled way given that the pandemic is continuing to be. Don't know if there will be those out of the world creative pandals to see this year, and even if there are, I would have to stay home and watch on TV 😢

I was going through the pictures I had clicked from the 2019 Durga pujas.  Just going through the artistic and beautiful pandals makes me yearn for those times. Will miss those moments this year...

I missed sharing pictures of  some of my favourite puja pandals from South Kolkata. Posting those down below.Stay safe and let’s throw this relentless virus out of our lives!

The below pandal was on a jungle theme, very well created:)

The below Durga puja pandal was a gem, my personal favourite. They created an old time Kolkata street with shops, houses, cycle repair stores, saloon...so real..so perfectly done. This is what I am so amazed about, every year, year after year...the creation is mind boggling...not seen any such creative puja pandals anywhere!





The below was unique too, the faces that you see...would keep changing as you approached them, from  Goddess Durga's to famaous women in history.




Another beautiful and artistic one:)



The below was on recycling plastic, and they used it in the decorations:

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From my archives: North Kolkata Durga pujas 2019, the popular ones