>Photo Hunt #26: Support
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Coming back again for the PH after such a long time of being absent. My entry for this week is a photo of one of the towers of a lesser known temple Prey Rup found at the Angkor Wat complex. Shown in the photo is a re-assembled tower, a temple mountain design symbolically representing Mount Meru (characteristic of a Khmer classical architecture), the legendary home of Hindu gods.
Being one of the World Heritage Sites, the Cambodian government took measures to protect the temples. There have been several conservation projects supported by Japan, Germany, France and other countries that were implemented and some are still ongoing. As you can see in the picture, huge blocks of sandstone are precariously held together by what looked like a string. I wonder though, with all the support generated for the conservation project, could they get another string/rope strong enough to support the sandstone blocks from falling down?
>Photo Hunt #23 – Myself
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Ta Prohm Temple
Siem Reap, Cambodia
My first visit to Angkor Wat was unforgettable. It was when going to the great land of Angkor Wat, and walking the same path as the ancient Khmers who lived thousands of years ago; seeing the crumbling ruins, some still hidden in the midst of the jungle – unleashed the Indiana Jones in me.
Above is a photo of me at Ta Prohm temple. It is an eerie sight – rubble all over the place with overgrown trees and tangles of tree roots that seem to grab at unsuspecting tourists (see pic) and give it an almost supernatural feel. I got so carried away most of the time, hopping from one pile of rubble to another, that I forgot I was with someone (my husband), and that I was just one of those millions of excited, camera-toting tourists who visit Siem Reap every year.
>Litratong Pinoy #4: Tubig (Water)
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Ito ang Boeung Tonle Sap, o Great Lake, na matatagpuan dito sa Cambodia. Kung titingnan ninyo ang mapa ng Cambodia, ito ay napaka-prominenteng yamang tubig sa Cambodia at napapaligiran nito ang limang probinsya. Ang Tonle Sap ay itinuturing na isa sa mga pinakamalaking freshwater lake sa Asya, at, noong taong 1997, dahil ito ay isang ecological hotspot, idineklara itong biosphere na protektado ng UNESCO.
*Map from Wikipedia.
Kung tayong mga Pinoy ay tinanong kung ilang isla mayroon ang Pilipinas, binabalik natin ang tanong kung ito ba ay base sa high tide o low tide. Dito sa Cambodia, kung ako’y inyong tatanungin kung gaano kalaki ang lawang ito, tatanungin ko rin kayo ng “dry season o wet season“? Bakit kamo? Dahil ang Tonle Sap Lake ay may sukat na 2,500km2 at may lalim na isang metro lamang kung dry season. Subalit, kapag panahon ng tag-ulan o wet season naman, ang Tonle Sap ay lumalaki. Dahil sa tinatawag na reversal flow ng Mekong river na kung saan konektado ang Tonle Sap, lumulobo ang Tonle Sap, humigit-kumulang sa 16,000km2 at may lalim na umaabot ng 9m. Ang tubig galing sa Mekong ay tumutulak pabalik patungo sa Tonle Sap at umaapaw sa mga taniman ng palay at forests, tulad ng litrato sa ibaba:
Isa itong unique hydrological phenomenon sa Cambodia. Dahil dito, ganito ang itsura ng karamihan sa mga villages na nakapalibot o malapit sa Tonle Sap:
Ang litratong ito ay kuha sa Prek Toal sa Siem Reap noong nakaraang mga taon. Nagkataong rainy season ang pagbisita namin sa Prek Toal kung kaya’t inyong nakikita ay isang floating village. Kung dry season naman ang mga bahay na ito ay nakaupo sa mga mala-higanteng stilts. At kahit na taun-taon na sila’y napapaligiran ng tubig-baha, tuloy pa rin ang buhay para sa mga Cambodians…
Para sa karagdagang kaalaman ukol sa Tonle Sap lake, maraming online resources ukol dito, tulad na lamang dito.
>Litratong Pinoy #3: Nag-aapoy (Fiery)
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Sunset over the Gulf of Thailand
Kep, Kingdom of Cambodia
Ang nag-aapoy na Haring Araw, ito ang napili kong litrato na sa tingin ko ay angkop sa tema natin ngayong linggo. Kuha ito sa bayan ng Kep kung saan ako ay naka-base sa loob ng apat na buwan noong taong 2007. Ang Kep ay napapaligiran ng Gulf of Thailand, at sa aking opinyon, ito ay may pinakamagandang sunset sa buong Cambodia. Kung inyong pagmamasdang mabuti, naglalagablab pa rin ang araw sa kabila ng unti-unting pagdilim ng kalangitan, na para bang pinaglalabanan ang pagsaklob ng dilim sa sanlibutan.
>Photo Hunt #21 Funny/Creative Signs
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Hi, I am back for this week’s Photo Hunt. I was absent from my blogging duties and I want to start making up now…
It is not so difficult to find pictures for this week’s theme. Walking around the the streets of Phnom Penh (and China) is like walking around a treasureland of posters and signs where the message being relayed is far from being funny but ended up with a funny message anyway. Here’s some.
Let’s start from my own inbox:
I do not mind the mistakes in the content, but I DO mind the salutation…
At a hotel in Kampong Thom province:
Along the highway…
Here’s one from China…
Here’s one poster that I think is nicely done. The message being relayed is a serious one, and it is presented straight-to-the-point to the readers. Even the non-Khmers can the tell the issue right away…
For more funny/creative signs, just head over to the Photo Hunters HQ.
>Litratong Pinoy #2: Tatlo ang Sulok Ko
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Ito ang Cambodian wat o temple.
Kung nais na makitang mabuti ang detalye, paki-click ang litrato. Kung titingnan ninyo ng maigi, kapansin-pansin ang tatsulok na hugis ng roof o bubong nito. Ito ay karaniwang disenyo ng mga Buddhist wats dito sa Indochina, na kinabibilangan ng mga bansang Thailand, Burma, Laos at Cambodia. Ang litratong ito ay kuha malapit sa Oudong, may humigit-kumulang na 50kilometro ang layo mula sa capital ng Phnom Penh. Ang Oudong ang sinaunang capital ng bansang Cambodia, at dito matatagpuan ang iba’t-ibang maka-lumang stupa kung saan nakalagak ang mga labi ng mga namatay ng miyembro ng Royal family ng Cambodia.
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