Tuesday, July 12, 2011

So let the countdown..begin.

In another 3-4 days' time, I will be close to realizing one of my long-term goals for this year.

CAMBODIA, I am coming for youuuu :D

Masa aku cakap aku nak pergi Cambodia, ramai orang tanya "Asal? Nak buat charity ke?" Hahaha. Takde benda lain eh korang nak fikir? Let's see, Cambodia's famous attractions are:

1. Angkor Archaeological Park, Siem Reap.
Kan masa belajar sejarah dulu kita ada belajar pasal temple/kuil. Semasa pengaruh agama Hindu yang tersebar di sekitar negara-negara Asean, banyak kuil-kuil yang didirikan. Kuil juga berfungsi sebagai pusat pemerintahan dan ibu kota selain dari menjadi tempat beribadat.
So this Archaeological Park, spanning over 400 kilometres square, contains remains of magnificent temples built during 9th to 15th century. Among famous temples known are Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom and Bayon Temple. This massive complex saw the conversion of religion of the kings who lived here, from Hinduism to Buddhism and back to Hinduism again.

Angkor Wat and the moat in front of it. Magnificent.

Beng Mealea - one of the temples. Beautiful ruins.

Ta Prohm - for those Tomb Raider's fans, you might recognise this.

2. Tuol Sleng Museum, Phnom Penh.
Kalau masa kat Siem Reap, indulge dalam history of early civilizations and early religions, kat Phnom Penh pulak indulge dalam communism history of Khmer Rouge regime lead by Pol Pot. One of the most evil dictators ever lived, and he's already received his punishment for his deed to the Cambodia people. Basically, during this regime ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, it is popularly known for its social engineering (yeah macam Hitler buat) which ultimately lead to genocide. Khmer Rouge is actually French for Red Khmer; responsible for the deaths of 1.5million people. 
Tuol Sleng Museum is a school which was converted into a prison during Khmer Rouge's short rise in Cambodia; Tuol Sleng meaning Hill of the Poisonous Trees. In short, it is a concentration camp, much like Auschwitz. Only 7 or 8 people survived this prison.


Bed for prisoners, or probably place of torture.

Waterbed - one of torture methods.

Skullmap of Cambodia.

So these 2 are the main attractions for me to visit Cambodia, apart from observing the city, the villages and people who live there. Not to forget the vast Mekong River too. So sebelum berangkat pergi, marilah study terlebih dahulu supaya tak lost bila kat sana nanti. LOL :) I'm a history buff, and is really interested in Communism history, Nazism and World War II stuff. Call me weird, but WWII actually shaped some of the countries' political style and most of the world history besides causing the Baby Boom. Doesn't hurt to learn history, right?

Notakaki: Pictures and information are sourced from Google, Wikipedia and Wikitravel. My own pictures? Tunggu lah lepas balik nanti :)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

woah! menarik2....

iLiAiSyAhkaDir said...

i have been there.. must go places central market and russian market too dear...