Dancing in the Hall of Dancers - Preah Khan ***

Dear Readers,

when on your journey you come by a dancing hall, what would be the first thing to come to your mind? You can see what the three of us did, arguably with different degrees of success, when that happened to us. The precious temple of Preah Khan is famous for its educational history, having served as the biggest Buddhist university of its time.
The unique round-columned two story building above is rumored to have been a library once. More certain are researchers about the swimming pool of the inhabitants. Would you go swimming in green, unmoving waters? I am doubtful.

Yours,

Mat

Banteay Samré **

Liebe Leser,

um schon mal einen Vorgeschmack auf die Highlights dieser Tempelserie zu geniessen, habe ich Euch heute Photos aus Banteay Samré mitgebracht, einmal gut belichtet und unscharf, einmal schlecht belichtet und scharf. Da kann vielleicht einer gut photographieren...
Der Hauptturm der Anlage ist für die geschulten Augen die Angkor Wat bereits besichtigt haben leicht als der gleiche Baustiel zu identifizieren. Weniger gut erkennbar sind die "Sonne und Mond" (nein, keine Sterne) Abbildungen über der Sonnenaufgangs-Tür der Westgopura.
Von hier aus ging es weiter zur Massage in die Stadt, wenn ich mich recht entsinne, also durchaus eine mit angenehmen Erinnerungen geladene Anlage.

Liebe Grüße,

Euer Matti

Ta Som *

Dear friends and family,

the small temple of Ta Som owes its charms to a combination of remoteness and semi-ruined state. Emerging into one of the many "Indiana-Jones-Feelings" around those mystical architectures, we wondered how long nobody was plucking the weeds over here...

Cheers,

Mat

East Mebon **

Liebe Leser,

aufgrund des Wunsches einer mir sehr nahestehenden, lieben Person schreibe ich mal wieder auf Deutsch, ne Mama?! Nach dem schönen Banteay Srei haben wir East Mebon besucht, einst als Zentrum der Wasserversorgung des Khmer Reichs von großer Bedeutung. Heute sind die riesig-flächigen Reservoirs allesamt ausgetrocknet und nur die Elefanten haben bemerkenswert gut überlebt. Wenn man auch schnell den Eindruck gewinnt, dass East Mebon ein weiterer Tempelberg sei, dann muss man das relativ sehen zur flachen Umgebung. Im Umkreis von mehreren Kilometern ist der kleine Hügel mit knapp 5m tatsächlich "ein Berg".

Relativ gesehen, bin ich also schon groß!

Liebe Grüße,

Euer Matti

Challenge

Liebe Freunde,

vor kurzem bin ich im Rahmen eines handelsüblichen Intelligenztests in meine Schranken verwiesen worden:

Can anybody help? "C" is just my best guess so far.

Thanks,

Mat

Banteay Srei ***

Dear Readers,

a little more than 20 km north of the main temples of Angkor, almost at the foot of the Kulen Mountains, sits the remarkable small temple of Banteay Srei. The name, deliberately translated into modern English means "Citadel of the Women" or more poetically perhaps, "Citadel of Beauty" and presumably refers to the delicacy of its decoration and its small size. As you might know, great things come in small quantities :-)
Interestingly, this beauty-jewel amongst the temples was not dedicated to any member of the royal family, but rather to one of the counselors of the king with the difficult name. This influential adviser was granted this land on the upper banks of the Siem Riep river, which I guess dried up a few hundred years ago as there was no trace of water around.

Stay with me as I get imprisoned, ride wooden horses and pet elephants in the Khmers' fabulous temples.

Cheers,

Mat

Pre Rup **

Dear Readers,

please allow me to take you literally by the hand as I recapitulate one of the best historic-naturalistic adventures of my life. We had decided to gradually work our exposure of the many beautiful temples upwards, guarding the most stunning buildings for last. So after passing through the expensive gates (USD 40 for a three day pass) our first stop was Pre Rup, dating back quite some days until 961 when Rajendravarman (I had problems pronouncing the name as well :-) reigned. The most impressive features include the imposing brick towers dominating the surrounding plain and the lintels of the towers. People fond of colors might also be able to appreciate the harmony of color between laterite, brich and sandstone. I did only after reading it.

There is much more to come,

Cheers,

Mat

Preparing for Angkor Wat

Liebe Freude und Familie,

ich hoffe euch geht es gut und eure Sitzgelegenheit ist bequemer als mein Plastikstühlchen. Am morgen unseres ersten Tages in Siem Riep haben wir nach einem leckeren Sandwich-Frühstück die Tuc-Tuc Reise zu der wahrscheinlich größten Tempelpraline der Welt auf uns genommen. Die Strasse war trocken, die Sonne brannte und die Konturen unseres Motorrad-Motorhomes gut sichtbar.
Die von Militärs im Kampfgebiet und Wüstensand erprobte Hals-Mineralien-Kühlung, die sich so adrett um meinen Kopfhalter schlingt, hatte ich die Nacht zuvor in kaltem Wasser eingeweicht, bis sich die Kristalle vollgesogen hatten.
Am Tag als es ernst wurde war ich bereit...

Liebe Grüße,

Euer Matti

Don't let your head hang down

Dear friends far and nearby,

please keep up your heads and do not allow you to get into the "hang loose mood" all too early in light of the exams.

Hang in there,

Mat

Royal Palace in Phnom Penh II

Dear friends and family,

those of you who have been following attentively would have known that when I published "Royal Palace I" yesterday, chances are high there is a follow up. So here it comes:

On the top left you may see schoolchildren attending the afternoon prayers. Taking our shoes off for the fifteenth time that day (I wish I had worn flip flops) we kept in the background of the cool hall, respectfully refraining from capturing the ceremony on camera. Walking through the amazingly large park which is merely 50% open to the public, because the Cambodian King also enjoys his privacy, we came across all those remote "little" temples/pagodas. By the way, is anybody sure about the exact difference? Anyhow, the colorful roofs and wooden gables were beautiful.

I appreciated the white stone carving, remotely resembling the shape of the Borobudur site in Yogyakarta. Regrettably I missed that one.

I miss you as well :-)

Cheers,

Mat

Royal Palace in Phnom Penh I

Dear Readers,

I hope my lines find you well. On the first day in the Cambodian capital my friend Susan and me visited the Royal Palace. Already the entrance gate (that we "normal people" were not allowed to take) looked impressive from afar. Even more the inside of the Silver Pagoda, the beautiful building depicted to the right. Unfortunately it was not allowed to take pictures inside and all my attempts were either made ineffective by the guards or by the bad light situation through the windows.

I keep trying to deliver high value - as suitable for a business students.
Hoping customer satisfaction continuous to rise,

all yours,

Mat

Cambodian Dinner

Liebe Leser,

gutes Essen hält Seele und Körper zusammen, oder so ähnlich heißt es doch im Volksmund. Damit unser "Vollmund" auch mitschmunzeln konnte haben wir die lokale Küche erprobt:
Oben links eine Art Mini-Geflügelchen auf Reisbett, oben rechts: leere Salatschüssel, Schweinefleisch-Curry, Reis mit Fleischbällschen und Fisch in Tomatensauce (v.l.n.r.). Hätte der Vogel links mehr Fleisch als Krallen gehabt, wäre das mein Favourit geworden, so wurde es das Kokusnuss-Curry!

Wer also die Chance hat sein Schweinefleisch in Curry-Kokusnussmilch zu gahren, sollte seinem Gaumen was Gutes tun! Bitte gerne zu Hause ausprobieren!

In diesem Sinne: "nen Gueten!"

Euer Matthias

Crossing the border into Cambodia

Dear readers,

normally crossing the border is a tideous and tiresome experience. However, after experiencing just that on the Vietnamese site, we enjoyed the arcitectual finesse and quick service at the Cambodian side. A visa was only USD 20, payable in chash, stamped into your passport. Probably due to the hick-ups at the Vietnamese crossing, business was smooth over there.

I hope your own affairs go smoothly as well,

Cheers,

Mat

Der Teufel steckt im Detail

Liebe Freunde,

kurz vor der Weiterreise am nächsten Morgen nach Phnom Penh, Cambodscha wollte ich diesen rein zufälligen Schnappschuss noch mit euch teilen. Auf dem Heimweg von unserer Hafen-Dinner-Rundfahrt wollte ich eigentlich noch meine 3,5 Sünden diesen Jahres bekennen, aber die Kirche war schon voll. Im Hintergrund seht Ihr die Spitzen der erleuchteten Kirchtürme, welch ein herrliches Paradox.

Liebe Grüße,

Matthias

Saigon River Dinner Cruise

Salut dear friends and family,

on the last evening before traveling further to Cambodia my friend Susan and me wanted to enjoy a dinner cruise in the Saigon Harbor. Not as recommendable as we had hoped (for the reduced choice of dinner options presented to us) we at least enjoyed the nightly view over the murky waters of the harbor. None of the ships in the picture actually shows our cruiser, but you would not know anyway. It looks similar :-) Chinese life music on the first deck, Western life music on the upper deck, same, same, but different.

Hope you have the peace to enjoy a nice dinner with your friends as well,

All the best,

Mat

Kindersitze in Vietnam

Liebe Freunde und Familie,

ich hoffe Euch allen geht es sehr gut. Besonders wenn es draussen kalt ist oder regnet, freuen wir uns über unser Auto, dass uns warm und trocken ans Ziel bringt. In Vietnam kann man dafür aber schon als Kind am Steuer sitzen und lernt recht früh die Verkehrsregeln. In einigen Ländern der Region herscht Linksverkehr (Singapur) in anderen Rechtsverkehr (Malaysia), in Vietnam herrt Links-Rechts-Vorwärts-Rückwärts-Kurvenverkehr. Ein weitverbreiteter Ansatz ist, sich einfach mit der Hupe auf irgendeiner Strassenseite eine möglichst große Lücke zu erstreiten um in der unendlichen See halsbrecherischer Motoradfahrer möglichst lange zu überleben.

Euch dafür auch alles Gute,

Euer Matti

Chu Chi Tunnels II

Dear Readers,

I apologize for fooling you about the dimensions of the tunnel network in the last post. The impression conveyed is much too spacey. In reality it was much smaller, hot, sticky, humid and in general not such a wonderful experience.
However, here are some more pictures of me helping to improve the entertaining quality of the local outdoor museum.

Have a nice day,

Mat

good luck for your exams

Dear friends in St.Gallen,

most of you will be busy these days with exams. I wish you all the best!
Do not forget to roll up your shades every now and then.

All the success in the world,

Mat

Chu Chi Tunnels I

Dear friends and family,

I hope you are comfortably seated in your ergonomic armchairs when you are reading this post. The Vietcong, guerrilla force in the Vietnam war/conflict had to crouch frequently in rather uncomfortable positions for us white, spoiled tourists in the (by distance, not by room provided) largest tunnel network in the world (?). We visited the Chu Chi tunnels on a half day trip from Saigon, learning about what all happened in the tunnels, from cooking, bathing and marrying to conferences, fights and flooding. Above, one of the more uncomfortable places in the network, prepared for noisy enemies wanting to get into the tunnels. More difficult to notice in the left picture are the air channels that come up every 30 meters in the tunnel network, mostly disguised as harmless grass on the top.

Hope you stay on top of your work as well,

All the best until soon,

Mat

local craftsmen shop

Dear Readers,

I hope you woke up to a nice new Monday morning.
The Vietnam stories in Saigon continues: On our way to the Chu Chi tunnels (see tomorrow) we stopped at this manufacturing plant that produces some of the finest arts out of wood, paint and egg shells. The picture on the left is made up out of smallest egg shell particles, aligned to produce the conveyed impression and lots of egg shell powder sprinkled over it to blur the big mistakes :-)

Hope you can avoid big mistakes,

your Mat

Reunification Palace in Saigon

Liebe Leser,

gestärkt vom Seafood deluxe lunch ging unsere Sightseeing tour weiter. Im Wiedervereinigungspalast wurden wir sehr stark an die ehemaligen Ostblockstaaten errinnert. Der ein oder andere leicht angestaubte Repräsen-tationssaal wurde sicherlich schon länger nicht mehr gebucht. Im Keller gab es dann noch Bunker, wie es sich für einen vietnamesischen Palast gehört.



Euch einen schönen Samstag,

Euer Matti

Sumptious Seafood Lunch

My dear Readers,

I hope you all are approaching a wonderful weekend. Remember the lunch that I told you Joni took us out for? Well, this is it. It was seafood all the way through, mussles, shells, fish, prawns, wow! Please take a special look at the snails in coconut milk in the last picture. The way to eat them is depicted in the middle to the left, sucking out the slimy, juicy snail from one end. If you lift your head just a little so that gravity helps you, it is a little bit easier :-)

Keep your heads up,

Mat