KM23

Reflection of Angkor Wat
in the pond outside the temple

The main towers of the temple

Angkor Wat is a temple complex at Angkor, Cambodia. It is one of the many magnificent remains of the Khmer empire in the early centuries. It was built as the state temple and capital city for the king Suryavarman II. The temple complex is surrounded by a wall and a moat.

Angkor is a few kilometers north of Siem Reap. Tourists who wish to visit all these ancient temple remains will stop at Siem Reap as it is the nearest city to all these tourist attractions.

The long path leading to the
entrance of Angkor Wat

The moat around the temple complex

Historical events carved on the surrounding wall

The main tower

Renovations are on at certain
parts of the temple

A flight of very steep stairs
leading to the main tower

Tourists climbing up the steep stairway
to get to the central tower of the temple

Some of them took quite a while
to reach the upper end of the
stairway

Feng Huang Cheng is a small ancient town at the western border of Hunan province in China. Its name means Phoenix town in Chinese. The town acquires this name because there is a hill in the north east of the town which is shaped like the phoenix. There is also a fable which narrates that once upon a time there were two phoenix birds flying over the town and as they found that it was such a beautiful town, they hovered over the town, reluctant to fly away and some people believe that the town was named the Phoenix town because of this legend. To the Chinese, phoenix represents female, the Empress.

Feng Huang Cheng is a peaceful and harmonious town, away from the hustle and bustle of the cities. The life of the inhabitants of this town is simple, some even primitive, hardly affected by the process of modernization which is felt in every city in China nowadays. The architecture of the mostly wooden houses is uniquely Chinese and simple. Houses built on stilts and overhanging wooden houses line both sides of the Tuo Jiang River which meanders through the town. Alleys are paved with stones and cobbles which are meant for pedestrians only. The cobbled streets are shiny and smooth due to wear caused by villagers using them to and fro, day and night for their daily activities for as long as the town has existed though surfaces of certain alleys are worn off and becomes muddy.

The Tuo Jiang River will be a scene of activities in the morning; women wash clothes adopting ancient way, hitting the clothes with sticks or banging the clothes on the rocks by the side of the river, men fishing along the river and children swimming and playing at the shallower parts. Boats taxiing up and down the stream carry tourists who will be entertained by performances and singing of local young men and girls in tribal costumes in the boats or in the stage of the form of a boat anchored at some points along the river. Some of the songs are famous local poetic rhymes.

At night fall, the buildings along the river which are mostly pubs, restaurants and hotels are lit up by colourful, romantic but dim lights. Shops and stalls which sell mainly touristy stuffs and local delicacies are all opened. Tourists coming out from all directions, patronizing these entertainment and food outlets is a common sight. The town springs to its most vibrant and busy time of the day. The town nowadays has become more of a commercial tourist destination and that has taken some sparkle away from the town which was once proclaimed to be one of the two most beautiful town in China ( the other town is Chang Ting in Fujian province )