black and white Angkor Wat

After Ta Prohm Temple, we headed to the symbol of Cambodia, Angkor Wat. The daily pass we purchased before granted us the access Angkor Wat, checked by security certainly. Most people will have heard of the famous Angkor Wat, in fact it is only one of the many buildings of an ancient civilization.

Some background of Angkor Wat,

Angkor Wat is a temple complex at Angkor, Cambodia, built for the king Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation – first Hindu, dedicated to the god Vishnu, then Buddhist. It is the world’s largest religious building.

The temple is at the top of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. It has become a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag, and it is the country’s prime attraction for visitors.

Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple mountain and the later galleried temple, based on early South Indian Hindu architecture, with key features such as the Jagati. It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the devas in Hindu mythology: within a moat and an outer wall 3.6 kilometres long are three rectangular galleries, each raised above the next. At the centre of the temple stands a quincunx of towers.

Unlike most Angkorian temples, Angkor Wat is oriented to the west; scholars are divided as to the significance of this. The temple is admired for the grandeur and harmony of the architecture, its extensive bas-reliefs and for the numerous devatas (guardian spirits) adorning its walls.

The modern name, Angkor Wat, means “City Temple”; Angkor is a vernacular form of the word nokor which comes from the Sanskrit word nagara meaning capital or city. Wat is the Khmer word for temple. Prior to this time the temple was known as Preah Pisnulok, after the posthumous title of its founder, Suryavarman II.

innocent kid at the entrance of Angkor Wat

Back to our journey.

Everyone was excited at the entrance of Angkor Wat when we saw Angkor Wat through the windows of the bus. As soon as the bus stopped, we jumped off the bus and rushed to the entrance. Many children approached us and trying to sell us some stuff such as souvenirs, food, books etc.

It was noon and Angkor Wat was so crowded with foreigners and even locals. We would have tens of people blocking the view everywhere we tried take photos. Nevertheless, it was alright for me because I wished to snap photos of unique and interesting people.

From the entrance, there is a long causeway connects to the gate of the temple. I took a long walk over the huge water reservoir and moat surrounding Angkor Wat and reached the gate.

There were a few couples wearing traditional Khmer wedding costumes and had their wedding photos taken with the magnificent background. This is probably a good place for couples to have their wedding albums beautifully done.

There I started to take shots of the interesting people, including wedding couples, and an old man who seemed like a fortune teller, and monks who were not as many as I expected. Then I set my way towards the temple it had take a long walk again from the gate to the main temple. On my way before reaching the doorstep of the main temple, I met many adorable children and again I had their photos captured.

Standing in front of the main temple, whole place just looked amazing. However the weather on the day was not that good. It was windy and some drizzling. The best time to go to Angkor Wat would be dawn when the sun is rising from the back of the temple, and when the weather is fine and calm. In that case, we would probably get a perfect silhouette of Angkor Wat stands against the orangish sky while its reflection is mirrored in similarly beautiful orangish water. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen that way.

As I continued walking towards the central complex, I found many statues and many of those were headless, due to pillaging and looting. Making my way through the passageway and steps to the central complex, I snapped photos of many wall-carving which are similar to those in Ta Prohm Temple, such as the devatas (minor female deities). Surprisingly many of the bas-reliefs had well stood through the test of time and remained beautiful, despite centuries of wear and tear and invasions from tourists and looters.

bas-reliefs everywhere

After minutes of walk, I found my myself to be at the central complex, where I could see the lotus-like-towers. The steps to the top of the towers are small steps, less than half of my foot, and steep, the height of each step is longer than its tread. I decided to climb up the tower to have a better view of the whole compound, but time was running out. We were given only 45 minutes to tour Angkor Wat which I only had couples of minutes left when I reach the the central complex. I knew it would take some times to walk out the temple and I had leave then.

I took a few last shots of the locals praying there and quickly made my way to the bus. Forty-five minutes would never be enough for Angkor Wat. Not to mention people who want to know every piece of its stories and take wonderful photos. It would be worthy to spend at least 3 days in Siem Reap and visit temples of Angkor numerous times and different times of the day.

locals praying for blessing

Our exploration to Siem Reap was such a short time, half a day to visit the town, Ta Prohm Temple and Angkor Wat. However, we were glad we made it and hope to see the place again. I believe there will be surprises each time we go back.

So there we were, and continued the trip to the capital city of Cambodia, Phnom Penh in a long bus journey. Goodbye, Siem Reap!

Sharing more shots after the click. May all beings be happy.

causeway to the gate of the temple

many couples have their wedding album done at Angkor Wat

bridesmaids

friendly oldman

portrait taken in the temple

dancing ladies carved in relief on the walls of the temple

monk

Khmer children sitting at the window of the library building of Angkor Wat

cleansing

"hi there"

"welcome to Angkor Wat"

long walkway in the temple

friendship of Khmer

some old statues

prayers

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trees growing on Ta Prohm Temple

First thing we did after arriving in Siem Reap and had our breakfast in town was to go to Ta Prohm Temple, which known for the trees growing on it, and that Tomb Raider by Angelina Jolie was filmed at. We have to thank Miss Chong from our trip who made the arrangement to Ta Prohm Temple and Angkor Wat, which initially were not included in the tour. We are glad that we were able to make out there, as a trip to Cambodia without Angkor Wat would be disappointing.

visitors making their way through the jungle the the temple

It took about 30 minutes bus ride from town to Angkor. Before we entered the area, we stopped at the ticket booth. Each of us had to have our individual photo taken and printed on the pass. This procedure is to avoid people from sharing or transferring their passes.

The passes we purchased got us access to all of the Angkor temples and they were not exactly cheap, however they were worth it. After gotten our passes, we proceeded to first destination, Ta Prohm Temple.

A brief history of Ta Prohm Temple from the web,

Ta Prohm is the modern name of a temple at Angkor, Siem Reap Province, Cambodia, built in the Bayon style largely in the late 12th and early 13th centuries and originally called Rajavihara. Located approximately one kilometre east of Angkor Thom and on the southern edge of the East Baray, it was founded by the Khmer King Jayavarman VII as a Mahayana Buddhist monastery and university.

Unlike most Angkorian temples, Ta Prohm has been left in much the same condition in which it was found: the photogenic and atmospheric combination of trees growing out of the ruins and the jungle surroundings have made it one of Angkor’s most popular temples with visitors.

The temple of Ta Prohm was used as a location in the film Tomb Raider. Although the film took visual liberties with other Angkorian temples, its scenes of Ta Prohm were quite faithful to the temple’s actual appearance, and made use of its eerie qualities.

Ta Prohm is the only temple that has not been restored, but left just as it was found. The courtyards, walls and roofs of Ta Prohm have been repaired to prevent further deterioration and the inner area has been unclogged of dense bush and jungle vegetation.

serene Buddha statue

Our guide told us that we had only 45 minutes to visit Ta Prohm Temple because we had to visit Angkor Wat then Phnom Penh. We knew it was insufficient to explore the whole temple in that time frame, therefore we had to take a cook’s tour.

Bus stopped in front of Ta Prohm Temple with Buddha face tower as the gate entrance. That morning, the place was crowded with visitors.

When walking from the gate to the temple, we went into the jungle through a slippery muddy walkway after a rain. We saw some landmine victims’ music instruments performance and raised landmine awareness on our way. We took a few shots and quickly headed to the temple not far from the front.

Arrived at the front the temple, we were like wow, we were finally here at the Tomb Raider Temple, old and magical temple! The outlook of the whole temple was magnificent and we were wondering how people could build such a place centuries ago.

We entered the temple separately and each of us made our own exploration of the place.

As I walked inside, I saw more temple ruins and wall-carving, featuring stone reliefs of devatas (minor female deities), meditating monks or ascetics, and dvarapalas or temple guardians. However, parts of the structure had collapsed and some part of the ruins were close for repair work.

The temple is famous of overrun by very large and old trees. I saw tree roots that engulf the structures were very interesting to behold.

Soon as I was taking shots of the large tree, I noticed that visitors around were unfamiliar faces. I knew time was up and most friends had hopped back into the bus.

I made my way out of the temple unreluctantly and just before I left the temple, I met an old Khmer lady sitting in the ruins offering blessing and incense for burning. First thought came into my mind was to take her portrait shot. Having her consent, I took the first portrait of a Cambodian, which turned out to be one of my collection of Cambodian faces. I started to seek for unique faces from this trip.

old lady at Ta Prohm

I was the last to get into the bus yet was in time. We then departed to Angkor Wat.

45 minutes was just too short to tour Ta Prohm especially for people who want to explore and snap photos. Knowing that early morning is the best time to visit Ta Prohm: less visitors and dawn mystical atmosphere will intensify the experience, I just know that I have to be there again!

May all beings be happy. Sharing some shots which I took after the jump:

a tuk-tuk spotted

the temple under repair

gate entrance - Buddha faces tower

a cicada caught and released

traditional music band's victim of land mine at the side of pathway

one of the victim also performers without legs

reaching Ta Prohm temple

Khmer little girl

main door of the temple

my friends of the trip: Iqbal (left) and Zam

wall-carving

stone wall under repair

for blessing and burning of incense

slippery after rain, a gentleman at the temple

little girl at Ta Prohm

back to the front

marketing team outside the temple

The post Let’s go Cambodia – Ta Prohm Temple appeared first on juesatta (CJ Photography).

the happy couples, Kok-Liang and Tracy at the Chong Long Temple

Segenting is a beautiful fishing village not far from Batu Pahat. Here, the residents built their homes at the edge of the sea which supported by stilts to brave the high tides. There are a lot of temples in this fishing village. As most of the residents are fishermen, they pray to the Deities for a good harvest. One of the well-known temples would be the fish-touching Chong Long Temple which I came in April with friends. After sharing the trip of fish touching, my friend, Tracy was so interested to go for fish touching and requested to visit Segenting village for the first time. So we’d decided to go again.

Cinda at the Lover Bridge, waiting for inspiration for photography

It was a Saturday early morning last August. Tracy and partner, Kok-Liang together with Cinda, Wee-Peng and I traveled to Segenting village. When we arrived the weather was cloudy and after paying respect to the Deities at the Chong Long Temple, we went for fish-touching. This time I managed to capture the shots of the huge Arapaima fishes on the upper level of the temple. These two fishes were larger in size (exceed 2 meters) and their bright red patterning were distinctive than the rest found on the ground level’s pond. There were many visitors there trying to touch these fishes in the belief that it could bring good luck.

Short after we toured around the temple, we headed to the Lover Bridge (情人桥), which is actually a jetty. It is not far and could be seen from the temple. I missed the chance to visit to this bridge due to the rain and ever since my last visit, I was always wanted to visit the bridge. I knew I would be back. Eventually we were standing on this long jetty, built of rows of plank supported by stilts. The scenery was beautiful and the feel was good with the breeze.

The lover bridge used to be a docking and undocking platform for the fishermen however it is now romantic spot for dating couples. Many couples date here and that is probably how it got its name. Some locals believe that after a guy and a girl take a walk on the bridge, they would fall in love and become couples. Another adverse version which I heard would be its curse: if couples walk through the bridge, they will soon break up. Whichever is true, it is still a nice spot to enjoy a pleasant walk and sight for beautiful sunset.

the Lover Bridge of Segenting, sighted from the Chong Long Temple

It was a pleasing out of town trip together with good friends. Thanks to Tracy, Kok-Liang, Cinda and Wee-Peng for taking me to this great place and being my company. I hope we have the chance to go again and stay longer to tour around the village next time for photo-shooting.

May all beings be happy. More shots of fish-touching and the Lover Bridge after the jump:

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Gate to the Grand Palace

Being the capital city of a Buddhist country means that Bangkok is full of some of South East Asia’s finest temples. Therefore our visit to Bangkok would not be complete without seeing some of these famous temples (Wats in Thai). On the second day and fourth day in Bangkok, we visited a couples of temples:

• Wat Traimit (Temple of Golden Buddha)
• the unknown temple (we got blessing from a Luang Pu monk)
• Wat Phra Kaew and Grand Palace (The Emerald Buddha)
• Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn)
• Wat Pho (Temple of Reclining Buddha)

Boon-Huat, Wei-Seong and Wee-Peng at the steep stair of Wat Arun's central prang

These temples we visited are the spiritual part of the capital’s heart and soul and each of the temples is unique like no other as the architecture and decoration are awe-inspiring. It would be good to share the story of each temple together with the photos I took after the jump:

Wat Traimit (Temple of Golden Buddha):

It was on the second day we were in Bangkok and Wat Traimit, also known as the Temple of Golden Buddha was the first temple we went after we went to the Erawan Shrine. It is the home to the famous Golden Buddha which is 3 meters tall and weights 5.5 tonnes.

The Golden Buddha was cast sometime in the 13th century and at some point, it was covered in plaster and lacquer, most likely in an attempt to hide the valuable icon from thieves or looters. At that time, no one seemed to know that it was made of pure gold.

The true nature of the Golden Buddha wasn’t discovered until it was moved to its present location at Wat Traimit in 1955. In one morning of 1957, a temple monk, who had dreamed that the statue was divinely inspired, went to see the Buddha image. Through a crack in the plaster he saw a glint of yellow, and discovered that the statue was pure gold.

In early this year (2010), the golden statue was then moved into a new chapel perched high atop a four story marble-clad ziggurat which is shown in the photos I took. After visiting Wat Traimit, we departed to Pattaya.

The unknown temple:

The fourth day in Thailand, we planned our free and easy day tour in Bangkok. The first in our list of places was this unknown temple near the Grand Palace. Not knowing a single word of Thai, we could not read the name of the temple written on the entrance of the temple.

We got the direction of this temple from a Thai friend of Boon-Huat who was then met us at the temple. It is a sacred temple located in a small town village where a Luang Pu monk lives and gives compassionate blessing to visitors. And Luang Pu is a title given to an old renowned monk. If I’m not mistaken, my friends called his name by Luang Pu Sung Lung.

According to the Boon-Huat, many celebrities from overseas would travel here and pay homage to the Luang Pu monk. Wei-Seong told me that Luang Pu monks are usually high-ranking monks and very skillful to cure people from illnesses and black magic. Many politicians from Malaysia have also come to visit and receive blessing from the Luang Pu monk. That was the reason Boon-Huat requested to go to this temple first.

In fact, the monk would not meet visitors during the time we arrived. We got lucky to have met him through the help of the Thai friend who communicated with the assistant of the temple on behalf of us. The Luang Pu monk gave the five of us blessing by chanting sutra on our foreheads with Thai perfume oil.

Wat Phra Kaew (The Emerald Buddha) and Grand Palace:

After the unknown temple, we headed to the Grand Palace located in the historic center of Bangkok. Within the ground of Grand Palace, it enshrines the Temple of the Emerald Buddha which is regarded as the most important Buddhist temple in Thailand. Our friend, Ah-Too’s brother told us that it would take hours to tour within the Grand Palace, where we thought it would take us most of the time of the day. So we didn’t want to go into the Grand Palace but to take photos of the entrance area.

However, a tour guide at the doorway told us that it would take only an hour to tour the whole palace (I found out that wasn’t true later). So we changed our mind and decided to enter the palace. The tour would require proper attire for all visitors: strictly no short pant or skirt. I was the only one wearing long pant so the other four had to borrow long pants from the management with no cost.

When we were at the ticketing line, it rained. We had no choice but to retreat to our next destination, Wat Arun with river cruise. Although Grand Palace is a must to visit in Bangkok, it might be a good call for us to skip it and spend the rest of our day visiting other places before we left Bangkok and headed to Krabi.

Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn):

After the Chao Phraya River cruise tour, we arrived at the jetty of Wat Arun, the Temple of Dawn. It is perhaps one of the best known landmarks and one of the most published images of Bangkok. The beauty of the architecture and the fine craftsmanship declare its status as a temple of the first grade and one of the most outstanding temples in Thailand.

It is believed that after fighting his way out of Ayutthaya, which was besieged by a Burmese army at the time, King Taksin arrived at this temple just as dawn was breaking. He later had the temple renovated and renamed it to Wat Arun or locally known as Wat Chaeng.

The outstanding feature of Wat Arun is its central prang (Khmer-style tower) and surrounded by four smaller satellite prangs. These prangs are decorated by seashells and bits of porcelain which had previously been used as ballast by boats coming to Bangkok from China. We were amazed with its fine craftsmanship: beautifully decorated with tiny pieces of colored glass and Chinese porcelain placed delicately into intricate patterns.

The central prang has steep steps that lead up to two terraces. The height is reported by different sources as between 66 m and 86 m. We managed to walk up the steep stairs to the top terrace and had really magnificent views of Chao Praya River and other significant landmarks of Bangkok such as the Grand Palace. This was the place where I took many photos:

Wat Pho (Temple of Reclining Buddha):

We took a ferry to Wat Pho which is just across the river from Wat Arun. It is also located directly adjacent to the Grand Palace. Wat Pho is also known as the Temple of Reclining Buddha and is one of the largest and oldest temples in Bangkok and famed for its huge and majestic reclining Buddha.

Designed to illustrate the passing of the Buddha into nirvana, the reclining Buddha is measured 46 meters long and covered in gold leaf. The feet and the eyes are engraved with mother-of-pearl decoration, and the feet also show the 108 auspicious characteristics of the true Buddha. We couldn’t imagine the size of this golden reclining Buddha until we saw it inside the complex.

On the way out of the complex, each of us bought a bag of 50-satang coins (equivalent to ½ baht) and plunked them one by one into a row of 108 copper pots at the rear of the reclining Buddha for good luck and to help the monks keep up the temple. The sound of the coins hitting the pots seemed almost musical.

Wat Pho is also the birthplace of traditional Thai massage. Even prior to the temple’s founding, the site was a center of education for traditional Thai medicine, and statues were created showing yoga positions. Yet we didn’t go for the massage. After this, we headed to our next destination, Chatuchak weekend market where we spent the rest of day shopping before sunset.

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