SS-18 ICBM
Oscillator
Well, now there's a record of him on the Internet. And this is all on his expense. I don't know, maybe he was just having a tough day.
Thailand & Cambodia are awesome!
- Thread starter warpus
- Start date
warpus
In pork I trust
I highly doubt his boss browses the CivFanatics off-topic forum
Guy seemed exhausted, I bet he was sitting there for a long part of the day with nothing to do. I have no idea what he was really there to do either.. I suppose making sure that people don't go off the beaten path or something? Bit strange to see a guy like that there, but not at any of the other temples (that I could see).
SS-18 ICBM
Oscillator
Huh, that's interesting. Maybe there's been a history of incidents.
warpus
In pork I trust
The temple gets a lot of traction and I have read somewhere before that it is one of the main temples in the area that is in danger of slowly getting destroyed, just by the amount of people who walk through there... but I'm not sure what a guard halfway along the path to the summit is going to do about that exactly. It's possible that there was something else in the area that I did not know about, that he was protecting.
warpus
In pork I trust
Sunrise at Angkor Wat
It was saturday and the last day of November. I woke up at 4:20am, rushed through my morning routine, and packed my daypack for the long day ahead. A half an hour later I was down in the courtyard, waiting for my tuk tuk driver to show up and take me to Angkor Wat.
5am came and went, nobody showed up, and the main gate to the outside world remained very locked. I walked into the main lobby, which was open, yet empty.. Silence everywhere.. No signs of anyone being awake. I booked the tuk tuk through the guest house, so I had hoped somebody would be around.. but nope.
There was a sleeping guard right by the gate, but I figured that he wouldn't know anything at all about my tuk tuk arrangements.. but eventually enough time passed for me to start to worry.. up until that point I had been working under the impression that the tuk tuk guy was just a bit late..
I woke up the guard and at first he pretended to ignore me.. I saw his eyes open though, so eventually I got him to go to talk to someone about my first world problems. He reluctantly agreed and eventually his boss showed up, a tough looking guy I've seen hanging out around the guest house.. He claimed that he was in charge of all the tuk tuks, which are housed on-site, and that he did not know anything about anyone renting a tuk tuk for a 5am ride to Angkor Wat. Awesome.
But of course I had all the documentation on me, so a couple minutes later he was on the phone with I'm assuming his boss or the guy who was working the front desk when I made the arrangements.
Ten minutes later a young driver who had just been suddenly woken up was attempting to attach his motorcycle to the rest of a tuk tuk contraption (a thing on two wheels that you sit in).. To ensure that these two never got separated he used a padlock. For some reason this did not terrify me. That's how eager I was to go see this sunrise.
The darkness of the night was slowly starting to fade, even though the sun wasn't visible yet, and this guy seemed to be under a lot of pressure to ensure that we get there early enough for me to experience the best parts of the sunrise.. So there we were, flying through stop signs and red lights, speeding as fast as a tuk tuk will go.. The one stop we had to make was at the entrance to the Angkor historical park, where I had to flash my Angkor historical park ID with photo and accompanying 3 day ticket. The ticket cost $40US by the way, which by Cambodian standards is insanely expensive.. but definitely worth it. I had purchased it the other day.. This delighted my driver, who I think would have gotten in trouble if I ended up being upset with the experience for whatever reason, including things out of his control.. such as me having to get my picture taken, a form filled out, etc., and missing the best parts of the sunrise.
We finally got there, at least 45 minutes late.. My driver was visibly nervous about the whole situation. I did not blame him for any of this, and by the time we got to Angkor Wat I was happy enough with the state of the sun, so things sort of worked out in the end!
What slowed us down at the end was a huge congregation of people on bicycles right by the entrance and bridge to Angkor Wat.
A bike race involving hundreds, if not thousands, of people. Through the various streets that connect all the temples.. What a horrible idea.
There was apparently also a half marathon scheduled for the very next day as well.
The best spots for photo taking were right by the bridge, it seemed. A lot of people had congregated on the right hand side, so that's where I claimed a spot as well.
Most people seemed to think that the best idea was to walk down the bridge, closer towards the centre of Angkor Wat itself.. I didn't understand that reasoning at all, so I stayed behind. I thought the water was going to really improve the view and the pictures.
It was saturday and the last day of November. I woke up at 4:20am, rushed through my morning routine, and packed my daypack for the long day ahead. A half an hour later I was down in the courtyard, waiting for my tuk tuk driver to show up and take me to Angkor Wat.
5am came and went, nobody showed up, and the main gate to the outside world remained very locked. I walked into the main lobby, which was open, yet empty.. Silence everywhere.. No signs of anyone being awake. I booked the tuk tuk through the guest house, so I had hoped somebody would be around.. but nope.
There was a sleeping guard right by the gate, but I figured that he wouldn't know anything at all about my tuk tuk arrangements.. but eventually enough time passed for me to start to worry.. up until that point I had been working under the impression that the tuk tuk guy was just a bit late..
I woke up the guard and at first he pretended to ignore me.. I saw his eyes open though, so eventually I got him to go to talk to someone about my first world problems. He reluctantly agreed and eventually his boss showed up, a tough looking guy I've seen hanging out around the guest house.. He claimed that he was in charge of all the tuk tuks, which are housed on-site, and that he did not know anything about anyone renting a tuk tuk for a 5am ride to Angkor Wat. Awesome.
But of course I had all the documentation on me, so a couple minutes later he was on the phone with I'm assuming his boss or the guy who was working the front desk when I made the arrangements.
Ten minutes later a young driver who had just been suddenly woken up was attempting to attach his motorcycle to the rest of a tuk tuk contraption (a thing on two wheels that you sit in).. To ensure that these two never got separated he used a padlock. For some reason this did not terrify me. That's how eager I was to go see this sunrise.
The darkness of the night was slowly starting to fade, even though the sun wasn't visible yet, and this guy seemed to be under a lot of pressure to ensure that we get there early enough for me to experience the best parts of the sunrise.. So there we were, flying through stop signs and red lights, speeding as fast as a tuk tuk will go.. The one stop we had to make was at the entrance to the Angkor historical park, where I had to flash my Angkor historical park ID with photo and accompanying 3 day ticket. The ticket cost $40US by the way, which by Cambodian standards is insanely expensive.. but definitely worth it. I had purchased it the other day.. This delighted my driver, who I think would have gotten in trouble if I ended up being upset with the experience for whatever reason, including things out of his control.. such as me having to get my picture taken, a form filled out, etc., and missing the best parts of the sunrise.
We finally got there, at least 45 minutes late.. My driver was visibly nervous about the whole situation. I did not blame him for any of this, and by the time we got to Angkor Wat I was happy enough with the state of the sun, so things sort of worked out in the end!
What slowed us down at the end was a huge congregation of people on bicycles right by the entrance and bridge to Angkor Wat.
A bike race involving hundreds, if not thousands, of people. Through the various streets that connect all the temples.. What a horrible idea.
There was apparently also a half marathon scheduled for the very next day as well.
The best spots for photo taking were right by the bridge, it seemed. A lot of people had congregated on the right hand side, so that's where I claimed a spot as well.
Most people seemed to think that the best idea was to walk down the bridge, closer towards the centre of Angkor Wat itself.. I didn't understand that reasoning at all, so I stayed behind. I thought the water was going to really improve the view and the pictures.
warpus
In pork I trust
Sunrise at Angkor Wat 2
With the sun now finally starting to peek out, the lighting conditions were a bit better suited for proper photography.. or at least the level of photography I was more comfortable with.
I got up and out of the group of people that had gathered there and walked north, towards and past the bridge to Angkor Wat. There was almost nobody there, despite it also being right by the water.. and not very far away.. The only real "issue" was that there were a couple palm trees very close to the Angkor Wat centrepiece, but it was possible to strategically move around until they were out of the way if you really wanted to..
There were only a couple people there, including a Chilean couple with a tripod. They didn't know why nobody was where we were either. The spot seemed superior in many respects.
With the sun now finally starting to peek out, the lighting conditions were a bit better suited for proper photography.. or at least the level of photography I was more comfortable with.
I got up and out of the group of people that had gathered there and walked north, towards and past the bridge to Angkor Wat. There was almost nobody there, despite it also being right by the water.. and not very far away.. The only real "issue" was that there were a couple palm trees very close to the Angkor Wat centrepiece, but it was possible to strategically move around until they were out of the way if you really wanted to..
There were only a couple people there, including a Chilean couple with a tripod. They didn't know why nobody was where we were either. The spot seemed superior in many respects.
warpus
In pork I trust
Sunrise at Angkor Wat 3
I thought I had posted all of the sunrise pictures, but I guess I not.. Here's two more:
I found my tuk tuk and instructed the driver to take me to the closest place that served breakfast. It was time to eat.
I thought I had posted all of the sunrise pictures, but I guess I not.. Here's two more:
I found my tuk tuk and instructed the driver to take me to the closest place that served breakfast. It was time to eat.
warpus
In pork I trust
Through Angkor Thom's South Gate
After breakfast we headed north towards Preah Khan, through Angkor Thom's South Gate (just north of Angkor Wat)..
The South Gate is very popular with tourists.. At the time they had to keep shutting it down for brief intervals to allow groups of bicyclists to get through; it took us about 15 minutes to get to the other side.
Suddenly a wild monkey appeared!
(it did not really appear to be so wild)
There is an interesting procession of heads on the railings on both sides of the bridge over the moat.
After breakfast we headed north towards Preah Khan, through Angkor Thom's South Gate (just north of Angkor Wat)..
Spoiler :
The South Gate is very popular with tourists.. At the time they had to keep shutting it down for brief intervals to allow groups of bicyclists to get through; it took us about 15 minutes to get to the other side.
Suddenly a wild monkey appeared!
(it did not really appear to be so wild)
There is an interesting procession of heads on the railings on both sides of the bridge over the moat.
warpus
In pork I trust
I didn't get to get close to West Baray, but I saw it from a distance. A couple of the temples had moats, which were cool. I also saw some of the reservoirs/barays, like Srah Srang, which we drove right by later on in the day (I forget if there's pictures though).
There's also a couple lakes, I remember walking down a boardwalk through a marsh and a bit of a lake to get to a temple, there should be pictures of that coming up a bit later too.
warpus
In pork I trust
Preah Khan
I really enjoyed exploring Preah Khan. It was large enough and overgrown with the jungle enough and devoid of people enough to make you feel like you were actually exploring it, and not just following a group of tourists around. And mind you that happened here and there at other temples too, but here that feeling just seemed amplified.
Here's one of the first pictures I took - it explains the history of Preah Khan a bit.
This was only part of a larger composition.. I did not manage to decipher any meaning or symbolism of any of it.
The central structure on the "island" (the piece of land surrounded by the moat) has many corridors to explore.
Not all of them are really passable though..
I really enjoyed exploring Preah Khan. It was large enough and overgrown with the jungle enough and devoid of people enough to make you feel like you were actually exploring it, and not just following a group of tourists around. And mind you that happened here and there at other temples too, but here that feeling just seemed amplified.
Here's one of the first pictures I took - it explains the history of Preah Khan a bit.
This was only part of a larger composition.. I did not manage to decipher any meaning or symbolism of any of it.
The central structure on the "island" (the piece of land surrounded by the moat) has many corridors to explore.
Not all of them are really passable though..
warpus
In pork I trust
Preah Khan 2
I was surprised to run into this guy..
I was surprised to run into this guy..
warpus
In pork I trust
Preah Khan 3
Beyond the central structure of the temple lay courtyards, rubble, walls, other structures, the jungle, and eventually the moat.
I ended up spending about an hour at Preah Khan total. I definitely enjoyed the scenery, but also the freedom to roam. (and the lack of people there)
Back on the beaten path!
Next destination: The Landmine museum. A sad place, but one that was on my list of places I really wanted to visit.
Beyond the central structure of the temple lay courtyards, rubble, walls, other structures, the jungle, and eventually the moat.
I ended up spending about an hour at Preah Khan total. I definitely enjoyed the scenery, but also the freedom to roam. (and the lack of people there)
Back on the beaten path!
Next destination: The Landmine museum. A sad place, but one that was on my list of places I really wanted to visit.
warpus
In pork I trust
To Banteay Srei
The plans changed slightly and we were off to Banteay Srei, about 25km (15 miles) away. We would pass the landmine museum about 17km into the ride and would stop there on the way back.
Before any of this could begin we needed to fill up on gas.
Fill 'er up!
At first we were going over unpaved roads and a long part that was under construction.. It was way too bumpy to take out my camera until much later. I didn't take any pictures, but I did record a video. And you know that annoying noise you hear when you're recording something and it's windy? It was pretty loud, so I replaced it with music. The first one I randomly clicked on sort of worked, so I'm going with it.
At some point during the video you will suddenly see a bus.
Link to video.
Banteay Srei is known for its decorative red sandstone wall carvings. It was built in the 10th century and is dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva.
The plans changed slightly and we were off to Banteay Srei, about 25km (15 miles) away. We would pass the landmine museum about 17km into the ride and would stop there on the way back.
Before any of this could begin we needed to fill up on gas.
Fill 'er up!
At first we were going over unpaved roads and a long part that was under construction.. It was way too bumpy to take out my camera until much later. I didn't take any pictures, but I did record a video. And you know that annoying noise you hear when you're recording something and it's windy? It was pretty loud, so I replaced it with music. The first one I randomly clicked on sort of worked, so I'm going with it.
At some point during the video you will suddenly see a bus.
Link to video.
Banteay Srei is known for its decorative red sandstone wall carvings. It was built in the 10th century and is dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva.
warpus
In pork I trust
Banteay Srei 2
Parts of this temple were just beautiful. I can't imagine what it must have looked like in its prime.
Parts of this temple were just beautiful. I can't imagine what it must have looked like in its prime.
warpus
In pork I trust
Banteay Srei 3
The temple is surrounded by a hiking trail and several lookout points.
Yep, that's water!
The temple is surrounded by a hiking trail and several lookout points.
Yep, that's water!
warpus
In pork I trust
It must have looked really spectacular back in the day. It had the most detailed carvings I've seen on any temple in Thailand or Cambodia... I wonder how long it took to carve all that and how many people were involved..
warpus
In pork I trust
I just spent some time googling it, and I can't find anything other that it was built in 967 AD, 150 years before Angkor Wat, and that in the 11th century parts were rebuilt and the temple was expanded.
Either way, it was a very interesting temple, because it was so different from the others. Each temple I visited had a unique something about it that made it worth visiting, but these carvings were just amazing.
The next post is going to be about the landmine museum.. that's where I headed next after this side-trip to Banteay Srei. I didn't take many pictures, because it was such a sad place, but.. I had to take some. I asked for permission first, and other people were doing it too, so I wasn't being disrespectful.. but it just didn't feel right to have a camera out for whatever reason, so I didn't take many pictures at all. Either way, I've mentioned it enough, I'm going to spend a bit of time posting the first set of pictures from that right now.
Either way, it was a very interesting temple, because it was so different from the others. Each temple I visited had a unique something about it that made it worth visiting, but these carvings were just amazing.
The next post is going to be about the landmine museum.. that's where I headed next after this side-trip to Banteay Srei. I didn't take many pictures, because it was such a sad place, but.. I had to take some. I asked for permission first, and other people were doing it too, so I wasn't being disrespectful.. but it just didn't feel right to have a camera out for whatever reason, so I didn't take many pictures at all. Either way, I've mentioned it enough, I'm going to spend a bit of time posting the first set of pictures from that right now.
