Tag: school

The Magnificent Mekong Day 16

Friday, September 8th, 2023

Our Angkor Wat pass was still good so today we visited Angkor Thom. It was the last capital of the Khmer Empire and was well fortified. Angkor Thom when translated from the Khmer language meant “Great Kingdom”. It was built in the late 12th century by King Jayavarman VII.

Five bridges lead into Angkor Thom and they were identical in length, width, and height. Each bridge was decorated with carved stone balustrades that depicted larger than life-sized figures of gods and demons. There were 54 gods on the left and 54 demons on the right.

Entering the South gate to Angkor Thom
South entrance and the moat that surrounded Angkor Thom

As we entered we saw a lot of archeological digs happening.

Many of the structures here were made of wood so they were gone. The remaining stone monuments illustrated how magnificent the city was within its walls.

Bayon temple was located in the city of Angkor Thom. It was built almost 100 years after Angkor Wat. Bayon had 216 large smiling faces from 37 towers. The Bayon had three levels. We could not visit the third level due to safety reasons.

Along the temple was a bas-relief that depicted the Khmer Army March.

We walked over to the Terrace of the Elephants. It was part of the walled city of Angkor Thom. It was mainly decorated with carved elephants. It also had a viewing platform for the king to watch his army returning through the grassy field. This wall was once attached to the royal palace.

Then we walked through the Terrace of the Leper King. It was located north of the Terrace of the Elephants. It had bas-reliefs on the Interior and exterior walls and stood almost 23 feet tall. There was speculation of why it was named the Leper King. Most believe it was because one of the former kings had leprosy. The statue of the Leper King was a replica because the original was in a museum in Phenm Penh.

Replica of Leper King statue
Inside the Leper King Terrace
Bas-reliefs on the Terrace walls
Detailed bas-reliefs

This afternoon we visited H.V.T.O. (Homestay Volunteer Teachers Organization) school. This “school” supplemented the public school education of the rural Cambodians. It was founded by Sim Piseth. He was one of our Cambodian Guides and he wanted to give back to his village. Viking helped this school financially.

When we visited two 14 year old girls picked us and took us around the school grounds and practiced their English!

Our guides and readers

They then showed us the library and picked the book Ten Apples Up on Top by Dr. Seuss. They took turns reading the book to us.

We went with them into the various classrooms. Some of the classes sang a song in English, another did the ABCs, and others explained what they were learning. It was a wonderful afternoon.

In one of the classes a little 8 year old girl came up to me and handed a beautiful picture that she had drawn.

Before we left one of the girls gave us her handwritten biography! It was so special.

Our dinner was at the Mahob restaurant. As the servers were delivering the main course, the lights went out! It wasn’t just at the restaurant but the entire city of Siem Reap! Another guest told us the power had gone off twice in the afternoon. It must be fairly common because the restaurant had battery backup lights to give us a little light and we also used the flashlight on our phones!

RV Traveling! Fifth Adventure

Sunday, July 19th- Friday, July 24th

Sunday to Thursday was spent babysitting our granddaughter so the kids could work uninterrupted unpacking and organizing their new home!  We definitely had the easiest and most fun job!  Our granddaughter enjoys smiling and trying to roll over.

Our stay at the Newport News Park Campground was uneventful.  We had a lot of shade which was very helpful.

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“Miss Daisy” enjoying her week of rest!

We did walk some of the trails early in the morning because the temperature was up to the high 90s when we were there.  On our first walk we passed some Civil War Earthworks!

We read on the Newport News Park Park Campground website that along one of the walking/biking loops crosses into the Colonial National Historical Park and you can view a placard on the site of where George Washington’s headquarters were during the American Revolutionary War.  From our campsite it was a 4.73 mile roundtrip walk.  It was a shaded walk but it was very humid even early in the morning.

The start of our walk.
a turn here off the trail
Placard about George Washington’s Headquarters.
George Washington’s Headquarters.

Thursday evening we said our goodbyes which was difficult.  Friday morning we packed up our RV and we were on the road by 8:45 AM.  We didn’t have any long delays or issues on our drive home.  We stopped for lunch at a rest area and cooked grilled cheese sandwiches and soup in the RV.  We are being very cautious due to COVID-19.  We only used the RV restroom and ate our meals in the RV.  When we needed gas, we wore our masks and sanitized our hands after filling the tank.  We were home by dinnertime and had the RV unloaded before dark!  We didn’t do the cleaning of the RV until the next day.

“Miss Daisy” is back in her spot at the RV storage lot until our next adventure with her.  Who knows what will be next?IMG_3731

Egypt- The Land of the Pharaohs Day 7

Thursday, March 21st, 2019

Our wake up call was for 5:00 AM and after breakfast we visited the West Bank and our first stop was the Valley of the Kings.  Our guide said we would want to get to the Valley of the Kings as soon as they open so we would be ahead of the crowds.  We were thankful for that.  We didn’t have to wait in any lines to visit the tombs.  By the time we were leaving there were lines.

Sixty three tombs have been discovered in the Valley of the Kings.  These tombs belonged to Pharoahs and other dignitaries.  This was our transportation from the parking area back to the Valley of the Kings.IMG_4770

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The first tomb we visited was that of Rameses IV who reigned from 1156-1160 BCE.

Sarcophagus is empty. The mummy of Ramses IV is in the Cairo Museum.

Our next tomb was that of Rameses IX. He ruled from 1129-1111 BC.  The ceiling in his burial chamber was decorated with scenes of the goddess Nut.  The side walls showed scenes from The Book of Caverns and The Book of the Earth.  This tomb also used yellow, black and dark blue colors which was rare.

The third tomb we visited was that of King Tutankhamen (King Tut, the boy king).

His tomb was found nearly intact which was quite a find in 1922.  King Tut began his rule when he was 9 years old and died when he was 19.  He has become the most famous king because of his intact tomb and all of the treasures found inside.

After spending time in King Tut’s tomb, we went in the tomb Rameses VI.  This tomb was started by Rameses V and finished by Rameses VI.IMG_4840

Rameses VI ruled from 1143-1136 BC.  Apparently both Rameses V and Rameses VI were both buried in this tomb.  Much of Rameses VI tomb is covered with intact hieroglyphs and paintings.  The burial chamber has a pit that is unfinished and a figure of Nut and scenes from the Book of the Day and Book of the Night.

The last tomb we visited was of King Ramses III.  It was begun by Sethnakht and was stopped when the workers hit the shaft of King Amenmesse’s tomb.

King Ramses III resumed the construction.  He ruled from 1184-1153 BC.  His tomb is popular because much of it is well-preserved.

We were all overwhelmed by our time spent in the Valley of the Kings this morning.  It was an experience that we will never forget!

We stopped at an alabaster store and a demonstration of how the Egyptians used to turn the alabaster rock into bowls, figures, etc…

Below are some pictures from the Valley of the Nobles, with over 400 tombs and they are located south of the Valley of the Kings.  We didn’t visit any of the open tombs but we could see where new discoveries have been found and are not open to the public because they are still being studied.

Our next stop was the Temple of Hatshepsut.  Queen Hatshepsut ruled from 1478-1458 BCE.  The temple was built into the limestone cliffs.  It is dramatic to see!

This temple has been continuously excavated and restored since 1891.  They were working today.

You enter the temple through the great court.

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Some of the best preserved reliefs are on the middle terrace.

Nearby there are other rock cut tombs and in some, workers were excavating and studying their finds.

On our way back into the town of Luxor, we saw the avenue of sphinxes during the day!  They are quite impressive.

Our next stop was to visit a Francescan church school in Luxor.

Some of the children were finished with their school session for the day and piled into the car!  Look closely at how many kids are in this 4-door sedan!

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When we returned to the boat we relaxed on the sun deck until dinner.