Angkor

1. To revise your lessons in Hindu Mythology – Angkor is all about temples that are all full carvings which reference stories and myths from Hindu scriptures. These awesome carvings will fill you with both pride and desh prem as you get flooded with memories of Sanjay Khan’s Mahabharata and Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayana 2.  To test your new camera – Just bought a new SLR and want to test how many images your new data card can store? Head to Angkor which will be the true test of your picture clicking skills. Dealing the play of sun and shadow, to tackle the harsh light of Cambodian sun or exploring the joy of soft light falling through the canopy of trees will teach you more than one photography lessons. This Tour Operator went the Extra Mile, he hired people and dressed them up as Monks for his customers to get the perfect shot 3. To Restore your faith in sight seeing – If you think getting clicked outside famous places has gotten boring, if you haven’t seen spectacular in a while now then you need to visit Angkor. Our friend Atul who lives in Bangkok said he had completely lost faith in sight seeing but Angkor brought him back to the world of tourism. When we visited, we agreed 4. Visit to the Cambodian countryside – In your tuk-tuk rides between temples you will discover the Cambodian countryside which is picture perfect with wooden houses, coconut trees, rice fields and carefree children. Angkor is a protected area kept clean, green, well maintained and noiseless. Transit between temples, you will find, is as joyful as the temples themselves. 5. Bragging rights – Wonders of the world are a big scam. You visit Angkor and ask yourself if Pisa can make it to the List, why can’t Angkor? Unofficially …

So here goes the story of our Day 1 at Angkor temples. Enjoy and don’t forget to leave a comment at the bottom! Love – Vik & Ish 20 Nov 2013: Today has all about been sitting in the tuk tuk and wandering from one temple to another. Temples upon temples, nothing but temples and when you thought you had enough of temples, you go sit and relax…where? Well, in a temple. You would think it would be too many temples. As you would go from temple to temple, you would wonder if you have seen enough temples but your mind will instead be grappled by the urge to see more temples. “I wanna see more, I wanna see more” my mind said after I saw the first temple of Banteay Kdai, “I wanna see more, I wanna see more” it said after I saw 5 more temples and “I wanna see more, I wanna see more” it said after we saw the last temple of Bayon. Angkor consists only of temples. These were dedicated to Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu built between ninth and sixteenth century. While most tourists arriving in had to either be accompanied by a guide or be in complete dark about the meanings of many different carvings and statues, for us to spot the familiar Nandi at the entrance, to recognize images of reclining Vishnu or flying Indra or multi headed Ravana or seeing few of the surviving lingas gave us the thrill of being so far but yet be in our own backyard. It was an adventure to find and explore our own mythology in an unknown country. And at the end we were asking for more…”I wanna see more, I wanna see more” again. Big or small, covered with green of the moss, the grey of …

I close my eyes and I can see myself walking along the pavement on the second hand books market in Dariya Ganj. It was not easy for me to be here, for my parents are never happy to see me go away on my photo walks. They don’t understand my fascination with old delhi and least of all with this market, selling termite infested damp copies of old magazines and books. This is raddi, kabbadi material, they say with a look of confusion and anger in their eyes. Dad came with me to the market a couple of times. But I could see he got bored as I lingered too long at the stalls as though not wanting to leave a single title unread, unexplored, untouched on the pavement of Dariyaganj. Thereafter, I convinced him that I will be fine, “after all I go to college alone,” I said. He agreed not willingly. But he knew I have grown up to be a daughter who is easier to agree with than to convince. That morning, I had my family’s old film camera hanging around my neck. Photography was another thing that was not fathomable to ma and pa. “What weird hobby!” ma and pa wondered. Worried if I would be alright alone or worried I would get home fine or not as though I would contract some weird bug, ma and pa protected me from everything. But that day some wrong bug I did catch on the pavement. That afternoon, from the heaps discarded books and old magazines, I picked up and brought home an old copy of National Geographic with a picture of what they said was ‘Angkor Wat’ on the cover. It was magnificent it seemed. “A Hindu temple, so far away from India!” I thought. There were …