When Jayavarman II united the Khmer people and founded a kingdom at the turn of the ninth century, he would probably have never imagined that centuries later his country would eventually become the mighty Khmer Empire, nor would he have envisioned that his nation would […]
The 13th century was not a good time for many empires and kingdoms across Asia and Europe as this period marked the incredibly rapid expansion of the Mongols, who also happened to be the Yuan dynasty rulers of China. The Khmer Empire, a long-dominant power […]
It was a cloudy afternoon on our third day in Siem Reap and we were on our way to a massive 12th-century temple in a forest-studded setting. Earlier in the morning when the weather was ideal for photography, we paid a visit to the Roluos […]
In the beginning of the 11th century CE, the Khmer Empire plunged into yet more internal strife which saw a protracted conflict to determine the rightful claimant to the throne. It began during the reign of Jayavarman V, the son of Rajendravarman II who became king […]
It’s amazing, and scary, to think of what our hands are capable of doing. They slap, they punch, they stab, they fire a gun, they molest, they hurt. But they also write, they cook, they sculpt, they caress, they play music, they paint, they create. […]
Wildflowers can be interesting and pretty. But if there is an orchid sitting next to them, people’s attention would almost certainly be fixated on the latter due to the extravagant colors and shapes of its blooms. The same thing can be said about two ancient […]
Petra has been amazing so far, and the Treasury is even more impressive in person even though I have seen countless pictures of this famous ancient monument prior to the trip. But James and I know there’s more than just this magnificent structure – believed […]
The world is filled with so many wonderful places, and that’s often why a lot of us travel across the globe to see and experience those sites ourselves. Most of the time they meet our expectations, although sometimes we come home feeling disappointed for various […]
It is easy to associate Beirut with the scars of the civil war, and it is understandable if one is completely oblivious to Lebanon’s thriving art scene for the country has been portrayed in the media as one of many dangerous corners of the Middle […]
These days, reading about the resurgence of racism in many parts of world often makes me wonder what went wrong since the abolition of apartheid in South Africa, the election of the first African-American president in U.S. history, and other milestones which showed that more […]
Chapter 1, Part 8 In the late eighth century AD, the construction of what would become the world’s biggest Buddhist shrine began during King Dharanindra’s reign. Despite its colossal size, historical accounts of its decades-long construction are scarce, allowing multiple theories to emerge and feeding […]
What an Amazing World! 