Angkor Wat

I had booked the flight for this trip months earlier, and I did not realize that April would be really hot in Siem Reap. And it was hot the first two days we were there. Fortunately it rained a little on the third and fourth day so it was tolerable. Better hot and humid in April and May than wet and muddy during the rainy season from June to October! So here we were, travelling back in time, drenched in sweat! But visiting Angkor Wat is worth the discomfort. There was a pervading sense of tranquility as we worked our way among the huge monuments. It felt to me like I was in the hallowed hallways of a place of learning. And no wonder, as we entered from the West, before we reached the temple, were the libraries on both sides of the path.

Angkor Wat is one of the ancient world's most magnificent work of architecture which has endured the test of time. It is a must-see if you are  in Cambodia. Angkor Wat meaning City Temple, is situated about 5 km from Siem Reap, and is the Cambodian Nation's most precious treasure. It is mind-boggling that it was built so long ago in the early 12th century! King Suryavaram built it to honour the Hindu God, Vishnu. I had expected to see just broken blocks but the buildings  look remarkably intact and inhabitable to me. The architecture is amazingly modern!








From Angkor, the Khmer Kings ruled over territories that covered Vietnam to China. All that remains today are about 100 temples made of stone. The palaces and other buildings had all decayed as they were wooden structures.






The temples are decorated with figures of guardian spirits (devatas or apsaras), bas reliefs as well as narrative scenes of episodes from the Hindu epics the Ramayana and the Mahabharata..
















Towers shaped like lotus buds, a moat protecting the temple...Angkor Wat, the world's largest religious building.


UNESCO declared the Angkor Archaeological Park a World Heritage Site in 1992.

Footsteps nigh

Devata eyes spy on mortals

Leaves suspended in the breeze

For Weekend Reflections, Scenic Sunday, Haiku Heights and Haiku My Heart.

The Many Faces of Lake Wakatipu

This is part of my series on lakes renowned for their scenic beauty. Lake Wakatipu is not only renowned for its beauty, it has many attributes that make it worthy, in my humble opinion, of being a lake with many faces.

Firstly, it is New Zealand's longest lake and secondly, it is the third largest lake in the country. This accounts for the many different vistas of this lake that makes it beautiful in many different ways.

On another count, Lake Wakatipu in Queenstown, New Zealand is pristine. This is not just a descriptive adjective an enthusiastic writer would use for all lovely lakes, it is actually pristine in the true sense of the word, having its original purity. The lake water is said to be more than 90% pure. 


It is also a lake with a myth. An old Maori tale is that a giant's heart beats at the bottom of the lake which is below sea level. In fact Wakatipu means 'hollow of the giant'.


If you are a movie buff, you probably already know that Hollywood had used the lake for the location of "The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep" and "Vertical Limit". And who does not know that certain sequences from "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" were filmed here?


And of course, the lake area is an area that attracts not only extreme sports but also boating, fishing and cruising.

View from Bob's Peak.

View of the lake with the Remarkables in the horizon.

Venture a little closer and you could hear the giant's heartbeat if you listen closely.

From the deck of a cruise boat on the lake.

From my window at the resort at break of day.

View from the Queenstown Botanic Garden.

View from the lake looking at the bank where the homes of the rich and famous are located.

When you have a lake like this, anywhere you turn, the scene is just perfect for a shot. All these photographs are posted here without even cropping. Nature is awfully kind to photographers here. I could go on and on posting more photographs, but that would take all night. 

Please take a trip to Scenic Sunday for more fabulous vistas, and to Weekend Reflections and SOOC for more fantastic shots.

              

Siberian Seagulls

The  proudest moment in my newly acquired interest in bird photography occurred when I was at Green Lake in Kunming, China. I had always admired my blogger friends who photographed birds apparently with ease, and obviously with great success, judging from the fantastic close-ups of all kinds of birds in their blogs. In my own garden I could only watch as some mynahs hopped on the ground. Each time I moved in to attempt to point and shoot some photos, they would have flown off at the slightest hint of movement.


I resorted to photographing birds that do not fly...I do not mean roosters and such, I mean yard art birds. However my big break came when I heard about the thousands of migratory seagulls which would be at Green Lake after flying over oceans, land and lakes from Siberia. I am of course referring to the birds; I'm not from Siberia. Surely out of the thousands of birds there, I would be able to capture one or two decent images of birds in flight. There were throngs of  photographers by the lake using the best in bird photography equipment no less. I wasn't the least daunted. Using my Sony Cyber-shot, I clicked deliriously away. Here are some of my favourite captures.

What a delightful day at Green Lake, the day I became a bird photographer.

This post is specially for Weekend Reflection, Straight Out Of The Camera, Camera Critters, Scenic Sunday.
Do go over and watch the action there.