A Charmed Life: A travelogue:: May 2009

The Angkor Wat

Tuesday, May 26, 2009 - - 5 comments

an enchanted tourist

* * *

"City Temple"

angkor = city wat = temple

(the name "Angkor Wat" was used since the 16th c. real/original name of the wat is not yet known, source: wiki)

The Cambodian flag derived its design from Angkor Wat

The temple Angkor at dusk

I first visited the world famous Angkor Wat on September 2004. It costs a hefty 40 US dollars for a three day visit to the temple park. I almost passed as a Khmer when the ticket-gate person motioned me to go in without obtaining a ticket. It was only when I acted confused that he realized I was not local. So, I had to pay 40 bucks. :-)

this is not Angkor, but some other temple in the area.

we are having refreshments of young fresh coconut after a hot day inspecting the ruins.

these are two koreans I met on the way to 'Siem Reap,' the town where the ancient temples are. we ended up staying in the same guest house and so we shared the same tuktuk in visiting the temples.

i visited a local modern temple and this monk apprentice volunteered to show me around and tell me the story of Buddha.

i was going to the middle of the lake where there is a tiny island with a temple ruin.

.~..~.

The next Angkor Wat expedition: July 2008.

another 3 days visit to the same temple park complex. there was just too much to see. the photos here are only of Angkor Wat which is just one temple among the hundreds of different temples littering the area.

The temple was popularised in the West only in the mid-19th century when a French explorer, Henri Mouhot published his travel notes. The explorer wrote of Angkor Wat: (source: wiki)

"One of these temples—a rival to that of Solomon, and erected by some ancient Michelangelo—might take an honourable place beside our most beautiful buildings. It is grander than anything left to
us by Greece or Rome, and presents a sad contrast to the state of barbarism in which the nation is now plunged."

one reason why angkor wat was the most preserved of all the ancient temples in Siem Reap was because of this moat surrounding the temple. the moat inhibited the forest from reclaiming the temple site while all the other temples were claimed back by the dynamic jungle surrounding the area.

bridge entrance,
and monk visitors from Thailand (joke)

beautiful devatas adorn the walls of the temple. "devata," does it sound familiar?
yes, it's the same with "diwata," its from sanskrit origin.

an animated devata having fun.

a window

artists, you take their photo, you pay donation

studying the bas-reliefs depicting episodes of the Ramayana and Mahabharata.

inner courtyard,

view from a distant hill

sunset viewing

the beautiful sunset over Angkor Wat

Travel time: Sept. 2004 and July 2008

When I Couldn't Walk

Friday, May 22, 2009 - - 2 comments

When I was ill with Achilles tendonitis and couldn't walk for 3 days, my niece said, "why are you incapacitated?"

It struck me, I really felt like a disabled.

The month of May is somehow a party month for my family (graduation, reunion, kids' summer vacation, etc). Some of my siblings and their kids came from distant places to visit, and I couldn't walk. While everybody is active, jumping, walking and going out, visiting other relatives, going for picnics, I stayed in bed or just sat down on a chair applying hot and cold compress over my swollen feet while watching all the healthy people prancing all about.

When I got better and was able to carry myself to go downtown to see a doctor, I decided to go to the most convenient private clinic. I wanted to avoid the long lines at the public hospital and medical center, only to discover that there was also a long line at the private clinic and I had to endure the long wait, together with other people with all sorts of ailments. While waiting, I could easily sense a somber, dreary atmosphere among all the other sick people, and it was contagious.

However, if I had not been sick and did not have to go to the clinic, I wouldn't have known that there are many people in the world with various medical complaints. I wouldn't have known that I've been so lucky for being spared of illness for many, many years. I wouldn't have been reminded of the long waits, sitting elbow to elbow with other sick people, or blankly staring at other sick people in front of me -- fellow patients patiently waiting for their turn to be examined by the physician.

If I had not been sick, I wouldn't have known how it feels to be "incapacitated," as my niece termed it.

I used to be sickly as a child, 5-6 year old, and then I recovered and became very healthy that I forgot how it felt to be really ill. For most of my life up to now, I was never hospitalized. The last time I remember being hospitalized was when I was 6 years old. I seldom got sick and so very rarely saw a doctor. (Visiting the dentist for toothaches is entirely a different story though ;-) )..

Then suddenly, about a couple of weeks ago, I woke up one morning to find out that I lost my ability to walk! It was certainly horrifying.

But because of that valuable experience, I learned, and was reminded of a few important things:

Not to take my health for granted.
To take good care of my body.
To be thankful everyday for being healthy.
To feel deep compassion to those who are suffering from any disease.
To think positive thoughts only, knowing that many diseases are psychosomatic.

Now that I'm back to normal, I feel good everyday. I try to remind myself to be thankful for my renewed health. For health is really wealth. And I hope I don't have to see a doctor again for the next decades of my life.

(Incidentally, and coincidentally, I just learned that my sister who lives in another city, also for the first time, suffered from the same Achilles tendonitis just a week before I did! She had exactly similar symptoms. And, the day before she was unable to walk, we were together, climbing a small hill near our house. Could that be the cause?? Weird.)

Lang-ay Festival 2009: "Nurturing Our History and Culture."

Wednesday, May 13, 2009 - - 5 comments

Lang-ay, in the Igorot dialect

means, "fellowship." (sour c e)

Among the ethnic groups of the Mountain Province, Lang-ay is a gathering to eat, dance, and drink home-brewed wine (tapey or basi or fayash). It's a time for merriment and to be in fellowship with each member of the community.

Beat the gongs so everyone can hear.

Though it was first launched in 2005, this year was my first time to see the Lang-ay Festival. Yes, the provincial Lang-ay Festival is only 5 years old, but the tradition of Lang-ay as a family and community festivity has always been practiced among the different Igorot ethnic groups. It is referred by different terms by each group.

The current province-wide version was the brainchild of the governor of the Mountain Province. Owing to its great success when it was first held 4 years ago, it now became a yearly event.

Some of the objectives of the Festival are:

To share happiness, promote solidarity, hospitality, and nurture friendship among the different ethnic groups and municipalities of the Mountain Province.
To preserve and showcase culture.
To promote homegrown products.
To attract tourism for the province.
To call back the Igorot people who have left the province and the country, for them to visit and know their roots.

This year's Lang-ay theme was: "Nurturing Our History and Culture." It was held on April 1-7 in Bontoc, the capital of the Mountain Province.

Baliwon-Gaddang group from the municipality of Paracelis. It was my first time to hear them play their gongs. The sound they made produced a full and deep resonance making it 'intriguingly-mystical,' for my hearing. Their rhythm is surely different from what I'm familiar with. In the above photos they are playing a bamboo instrument.
Compared to the other ethnic groups of the Mountain Province, this group are the only ones who cover their head the way they do and they are the only ones who traditionally wear capes.