Face of the Buddha, Angkor Tom
Angkor is one of the most important archaeological sites in South-East Asia.
But the each sites are tremendously damaged because nobody had taken care of them during the war time and the time was quite long too...
Many countries stood up and help them restore the sites in a good shape, but at the end of the day, those work can not be done without the effort of local people.
I had a chance to visit the local art school "Artisans d'Angkor", established by the Cambodian Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports and the Ligue Française de la Formation Continue et de l'Enseignement (French League for In-service Training and Education), and saw how the local student learn to become a real craftsman and help reconstruct the sites, the heritage of their own country.
Young students getting ready to be a craftsman
Sketches of a statue of the Buddha (left), Buddha's face from the site (right)
How they make statues of Hindu icons, Shiva (left), and Ganesha (right)
By the way, you can see both Hinduism and Buddhism sculptures in Angkor sites because the Khmer Empire (9th-15th century) was influenced by both Khmer Hindu and Buddhism. It was very interesting to see that both sculptures were seen in a same temple or a same column next to each other.
Beautiful paintings are sold on the street
A young artist painting and selling his work on the street
Well, as I said in "vol 1", I walked a lot from site to site in a very hot weather, I could use some rest. I enjoyed fresh coconut juice prepared by local girl with a big knife and also a cold Cambodian beer at the store just out side of the site.
Fresh coconut juice (left top), Cambodian beer (right),
Shops selling snacks, beverages and souvenirs (bottom)
There was a local fruit market near the hotel I was staying at.
Many different types of tropical fruits are found in the local market. It's very cheap anyway but you can also negotiate for a discount! You can pay both Cambodian Riel or US$ in any stores and shops in town. (US$1≒4100R)
Local fruit market near Smiling Hotel
Dragon fruit (top left), Longan (top right),
Salak -or Snakefruit-(bottom left), Rambutan (bottom right)
At Siem Reap's old market, you can also find fruits & vegetables, fermented fish paste, herbs & spices and souvenirs, like, Cambodia's famous palm sugar or T-shirts etc.
Local market, selling vegetables (left) and spices (right)
Variety of spices and seasonings (left), Fermented fish and pickles (right)
Dried sausages, fish meat, etc...
5days trip wasn't a long time. I wish I could spend more time and explre more but I enjoyed those 5days. Angkor definitely is a place to visit, at least, once in a life time. There are so much to see... I strongly recomend it!
No comments:
Post a Comment