our intrepid 'farty bus'...so called because of
it's continual hissing sounds from the air compressor
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we visited a workshop for training people from
the countryside in traditional crafts in order that they can make a
living once back in their villages after their apprenticeship.
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The Temples of
Angkor
Angkor,
capital city of Cambodia from the 9th to the 15th century. Its ruins
are one of the world's great architectural monuments. Angkor was
founded early in the 9th century and became the country's capital
under King Yasovarman I (reigned 889-900), who called it Yasodharapura.
The original city was built around the Phnom Bakeng, a temple on a
hill symbolizing the mountain that stands in the centre of the world
according to Hindu cosmology. Successive kings enlarged the city,
building other temples devoted to various Hindu deities and large
reservoirs used for irrigation, which also symbolized the ocean
surrounding the holy central mountain.
In the 13th century Angkor
covered about 100 sq km (39 sq mi) and was one of the largest cities
in the world. Shortly thereafter, it began to decline. Threatened by
attacks from the neighbouring Thais, the Cambodians left Angkor about
1430, moving their capital south for greater security. Angkor Wat
survived for a time as a Buddhist pilgrimage centre, but the rest of
the city was covered by the jungle until French archaeologists began
to excavate it in the 1860s.
Prassat Kravan
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A major restoration project was
begun in 1987. Angkor, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in
1992, was simultaneously inscribed on the list of World Heritage in
Danger. Preservation work continued through the 1990s and included a
temple restoration, funded by the Italian government (1998), and the
first phase of the Japanese-funded "Safeguarding Angkor"
programme (1999); the second phase of the programme is expected to be
completed by 2005.
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